Photographer Swapan Nayak exhibits his second solo show, inspired by French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, in the city

Frame of mind!

Photographer Swapan Nayak exhibits his second solo show, inspired by French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, in the city

Hugely inspired by French philosopher and playwright Jean Paul Sartre's theory of Being and Nothingness, photographer Swapan Nayak has dedicated his current photo exhibition to him. "I read the two volumes of Sartre's philosophy and found it very inspiring. I could totally identify with it," says Swapan. The artist asserts that his journey has been a story of migration — from a sleepy village to an unrelenting city. "At best, life and death are two transit points in this gigantic universe. The rest is all consumed by nothingness that even time cannot defy. As I stare at the vacuum, the mind becomes a flicker of fleeting images, with shadows between the frames. It is these 'shadows' I try to capture in the only way I know how, through my photographs." Being and Nothingness showcases 60 photographs clicked by him in the last two and a half years, during which he traveled to various parts of North East India like Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, etc. The show, which is organised by Tasveer Art Gallery and Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, opens in Mumbai before travelling to four other cities, which include Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. The show, he says, is not a photo documentation for him, "but a reflection of my feelings and perception of things around me." Swapan wanted to give a universal touch to all the pictures. "That is why it is hard to identify the place in all the pictures." Talking about the use of digital cameras, which claim to make photography simpler and quicker, Swapan says, "It is something that is eating into the passion of the photographers who want to make a difference with their camera and their photography." Hailing from Kolkata, Swapan has been working as a professional photographer, for publications both in and outside India, since 1995. His works have been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. He has also been awarded for National Media Fellowship 2002-2003 by National Foundation for India, the Nirmaan photography fellowship award in 2006 and the National Senior Fellowship in photography (visual art) for the period of 2009-2011, rewarded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Presently, he is working on some of his long term metaphorical series.