Anthotype Beetroot Juice – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Anthotype Beetroot Juice – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Anthotype Beetroot Juice Photogram – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Cyanotype layered with Gum Bichromate – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Cyanotype Photogram – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Cyanotype Print – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Cyanotype Print – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Cyanotype Tea Toned Print – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Gum Bichromate – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Salt Print – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Salt Print – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Salt Print Photogram – Photograph © Aditya Arya
Salt Print Photogram – Photograph © Aditya Arya
At the time of our 1:1 Interview with Aditya, he was asked about Tattva - Aravallis De-Constructed.
PSA: Please talk about your project Tattva - Aravallis De-Constructed. What prompted your engagement with the Aravillis? Why did you choose various vintage printmaking processes, as a part of your artistic practice in this project?
AA: After 37 years in the realm of advertising photography, and with the advent of the digital age, I felt the need to go back to the physicality of image making. I enjoy living more in the world of touch and feel, something that perhaps comes from being born 'Analog.' Thus began my work on the Aravalli Range.
The Aravallis are the oldest fold mountains in India, resulting from tectonic forces that were in play over three billion years ago. With the gradual progression of time, a series of complex elements eventually formed this mighty range, as we know it today.
I am a child of the Aravallis. Born at Delhi University, I spent my childhood exploring the last spur of this range, the Northern Ridge. In the 1990s, I set up a farm in the heart of the Aravallis and built a house using only locally accessed construction material. Eventually, I also settled in Gurugram, on the fringes of the Aravalli range. I have a deep connection to this ancient mountain range and it continues to be a significant part of my journey. This body of work is inspired by the elements of the Aravallis and combines my love for the region and my passion for photography.
Called Tattva (Sanskrit for "elements," or "essence"), this project is an interpretation of four natural elements from the Aravallis, through four of the oldest photographic printing processes dating back to the 19th century. This is also a story of origins demonstrated by deconstructing the pure essence of the Aravallis by virtue of the purest forms of printing processes in photography. It is also about explorations at different levels. While at one level this was about exploring the Aravallis through the digital lens, the second significant exploration took place in the dimly lit darkrooms, where images were interpreted and presented accordingly. Several thousand images of the Aravallis exist in the digital world, but this perhaps may be the first time that images have been interpreted based on the elements they are drawn from.
Creativity often emerges from accidents and these vintage printmaking processes have a curious unpredictability to them. Besides being hard to tame, they are based on several variables, and a certain erratic beauty emerges from these imperfections.
Tattva is a manifestation of my exploration and experimentation with dimensions of land and its many metaphors. The works created evoke a layered dialogue with varied conceptual frameworks from defining moments in the development and evolution of photography. It is a tribute to this special mountain range and a result of my exploratory visits over the past few years.
20 November
