Unlearn Photography

Through this work, I tried to push back my own boundaries in order to explore new avenues. I was the first to be surprised by several of my own photographs. When taking photographs, we can easily avoid making mistakes and create attractive pictures. Instead, why not try to make mistakes to see where it leads us? Why not let the medium of photography express itself without intervention?

Darryl Rose, a friend of mine commented on my blog and wrote in an email : “ It’s amusing that you’ve spent so many years learning the art of photography to reach a point where you’re trying to unlearn it. You’re trying to take it all in from a child’s perspective, with no preconceived notions, but then applying the knowledge you’ve learned. Your skill in "taking a good picture" is so strong. Now it’s concerned much more with the ideas and philosophies pertaining to it, which in the end can never be right or wrong and will always be changing with flow. ”

I very much liked his expression “unlearn photography”. Through the last few projects that I completed for the Academy, I have in fact “unlearned” what I first have been taught.

I am aware that my photos are not exceptional; the art milieu has, for over a century, been exploring similar avenues where expression, deconstruction and concepts dominate over objectivity. The research that I undertook is far from revolutionary, but it is important with respect to my own personal development; it has pushed my own limits, forced me to reflect on the nature of photography, not only as a form of documentation but also of expression as a means, demanding that I present a point of view.

I envisage a very traditional exhibition with large format prints placed on the walls along with the text of my presentation. I thought about the option of showing my work in a multimedia format, but I could not in any way justify the use of multimedia to present this project. I believe that the photos in and of themselves portray ample information and inquiry and that it would serve no purpose to dilute their messages.