It goes without saying that Siddhartha Tawadey is very experimental with his photography. Borrowing techniques from both filmmakers and scientists, and adding a wave of philosophy, Siddhartha has set an inventive tone to his images.
As a world traveler, mostly between England and India, Siddhartha continuously strives to break from convention. He experiments with vantage points, framing, and lighting to create poetic, allusive photographic worlds.
Siddhartha’s recent series titled Transience incorporates new dimensions, those of philosophical thought and movement. These photos are “based on images of Mujo, a medieval concept of Buddhism, literally meaning no (mu) permanence (jo)”. Thus Transience is about the fleeting and “momentary aspects of our existence”.
The Mujo philosophy states that life must constantly change or we inevitably cease to exist. Change is about movement, and Siddhartha’s photographs explore this movement in a beautiful way.
The photograph below demonstrates the movement of rain cast over trees. You can almost imagine yourself standing among the raindrops squinting through the downpour. The choice of black and white lets the viewer focus on the washed out forms and the passage of time.
In the image below Siddhartha attempts to depict trees like a Monet painting. By capturing the light moving across the leaves, Siddhartha replicates brushstrokes of paint sweeping across an imaginary canvas.
Through these images, Siddhartha attempts to capture a moment as an expression, rather than a form or object.
The wave below portrays an expression of power—but also fleeting movement. While the composition of this photo is essentially stacked horizontal bands, you know that once the photograph was taken, the middle band disappeared as it crashed to the shore. This is such a dynamic scene.
I encourage you to visit Siddhartha’s website and view more of his moving photographs. And take a peek at his Facebook page if you’d like to experience some of his mixed-media work, too.