CHENNAI: Most of us wake up every morning to a barrage of photographs on our social media timeline. Some we consume mindlessly, and there are others that have our attention for five seconds. Either way, we’re saturated. On the other end of the medium is a photographer, who has followed the perfect guidelines, and is happy with a predicted number of likes and shares. In such a time, will we stop to make a photograph with a paper, paint, brush, and a negative, and wait for hours to get it done?
Brian Potts, a Melbourne-based artist, teacher, and traveller, calls this dark room photography, analogue photography, and most importantly photography that is unpredictable. “It’s a complete shift in process. You first paint on a paper, and then layer it with a negative of digital print. You then put it under the sun. The chemical turns green and over time, oxidises and turns blue,” explains Brian. “It might be a terrible photograph by standards written down, but the question to ask is: is it an image that you will look at for longer than 60 seconds?”
Brian is currently in the city to teach cyanotype and van dyke brown processes of photography during his five-day workshop. Why is it ‘alternative’? “It’s because of the approach. These processes pre-date film. They were used to make blueprints of plants architecture, record flowers, still life objects, and other shapes of things. It used to be accessible to people who couldn’t make photographs. But now, we’ve started re-discovering it to understand the process beyond its simplicity. No two photographs can look the same. And you can’t reproduce them,” he explains.
Last year Brian was in India to teach at Rajiv Menon’s Mindscreen Film Institute. In 2007, he taught at the Life and Light Academy in Ooty for three years. “During my time in India as a teacher, I realised students here are afraid to step out of a guideline. I think it’s because of the education system here. There’s a need for everyone to produce the same kind of result at the same time. But what happens to our creativity then, when we’re not taking a chance?” he asks.
Brian believes this reflects in the photographic practices followed in India. “The idea of a photograph is a stereotype here. My work is to try and break that. At this workshop for example, people can’t come with a fixed idea of what they want to do. They are coming to broaden their perspective,” he says, explaining that this makes it exciting for people of all age groups. “The wait is the best part. At the end of it, I’ve seen 60-year-olds become children again. Whether you’re a professional or not, you’re learning off each other, and a workshop environment supports your creative process.”
Brian’s ‘Alternative Photography Workshop’ is being organised as a run-up to Chennai Photo Biennale that will happen in February next year. By challenging current photographic practices, Brian’s work tries to evoke emotion, and explore what comes naturally to us. “For an artist, a piece starts at one point and along the way, becomes completely different. It’s important to not replace this sense of wonderment with reason,” he says. “My workshop will help explore this spirit. The first three days you’ll learn, and the next two you’ll practice making photographs. And the fifth, is for you to exhibit your work.”
Attend Brian’s workshop starting today from 10 am to 5 pm, at The Dark Room, Anna Nagar. The fee is `11,000 per person. It includes cost of chemicals, watercolour paper, darkroom equipment, and mentorship. For details call: 8610921968