Lyrical Shadows
Perhaps time is a construct, but the stretched fabric of experience gathered over time isn’t. This wave of sound, sight and memory could well be the most real thing we as a species have to lean on, bounce off of, and smile upon.
This reality, or version of one at least, is what photographer Vivek Mathew pivots off of when looking through the patina-laced lens of his now-evolved camera.
Vivek has chronicled the evolution of spaces, experiences and human interactions from the time his nimble fingers pressed the ‘click’ button on his tiny camera as a young boy. But, his journey on a professional level began two decades ago, and ‘Lyrical Shadows’ is a commemoration of this loyal and irrepressible hunger for his craft and the truth.
In twenty-four images, Vivek looks to take you into his world even as you begin to enter your own. It’s as emblematic of our every day as it is of the artist’s wonderfully curious mind.
Unshackled by the concept of yesterday, today or tomorrow, Vivek operates with a refreshing lack of biases or prejudice while viewing a subject for what it's worth. This rather unique trait has always been a tell-tale of Vivek’s nuanced reading of the slacklinesuspended in the grey of human observation. It wasn’t always as easy to express this, though.
Having grown through the eras of digital cameras, styles and perceptions, Vivek started from the 6megapixel camera to a 10 megapixel to a 36 megapixel now where he stands at 45 megapixel of sheer depth and volume.
He learnt plenty from photography school and growing under Pallon Daruwala’s wings certainly helped, but Vivek had to learn himself to become his art, and that only experience could help him with.
As he wandered the streets of the world with an eye out for the next moment, he found them in leaves, in chairs, in faces, in fences, on benches, in eyes, in unmoving lips, in condensation, and yet while the chaos of lights always forged the background to reflect his vision, his art truly stretched itself out when born in the shadows.
The reason, he says, is because it provides the drama to accentuate light, features, and perhaps even the moment itself. By that, Vivek is a practitioner of the ‘chiaroscuro’ minus the paintbrush, but you will see that his images do suspend your understanding of where a photo begins and where a painting ends.
It’s all in the mind, and Vivek understands how to bring your pupil to attention. As they stretch and compress to the visuals during this exhibition take a moment to understand that these images are not a product of aesthetic alone. They are a testament to Vivek’s unrelenting desire to take you on a journey you might not have even considered.
For him, it’s just another day in paradise with lights and shadows bouncing to the tune of an unspoken universe. Time isn’t a factor. His experience is. So, welcome to his mind.
'Lyrical shadows - untitled 23 (edition 1/10)' created by
vivek mathew using Photograph is available
in a size of
Size -16" x 10.7".
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