Dear Readers

This issue is quite a mixed bag and I believe it’s because of the theme that I chose. Identity and Perception is a complex thing and vast as well. People have different ideas about identity, how they understand the word, how they live the word and how they explain it to others. Perception of the world around each of them somehow blends unconsciously to their expressed identity, sometimes in conformity and sometimes in exclusive rebellion. The pieces published in this issue does not only talk about the human identity but also its abstraction that is found in inanimate objects sometimes. Images that I have managed to curate for this issue walks a strange bridge in that regard. I hope the readers will be able to see that apparent missing link between what is living to that of the non-living and yet see the perceptions that are identified there.

For a scientist that I was primarily trained identity has some interesting meaning. It is two mathematical expressions on either side of an “equal to” sign, it is a functional operator that gives leaves another value unaltered and even it is something that can have an attributed numerical value of unity. Somehow these technical statements were not found in any of the pieces although I expected some authors to explore that too. But may be DoubleSpeak is yet to reach those readers and authors.

I was also expecting a lot of images in the photography section on the topic, but somehow I have failed to reach out to photographers to make them contribute for this issue. And also in photostory section, I have continued to give space to paintings and sketches to have a space although they are not photographs. I am planning to use the photography section for fine-art pieces from now on as they serve a similar purpose to that of photographs in many occasions. I believe that will give fine-art practitioners some scope to share a common platform of expression with photographers.

This issue has some apparent contradictions in categorising some of the pieces. Some essays might well have been in the photostory sections and a photostory could have well been in the poetry section. I have tried to remain mindful of the nature of the art-piece and the scope of it for a larger audience and there the choices were made as they are. I am eager to get some feedback from my readers on those and others as well.

Artists remain eager for and thrive on the appreciation and critical feedback of their audiences. I request all of you to do that for DoubleSpeak. I don’t get any letters that carry any critique for the published pieces, neither for me, the editor, about the structure and appearance of the magazine. I encourage you to write DoubleSpeak about your views on any of the pieces and I will publish them as letters because that’s the only kind of discourse a civilised society must have. In the world of 15 seconds of fame, that I have so many artists contributing to this magazine, makes me grateful and hopeful for a space that can boast of collaboration, trust and empathy.

Arpan Krishna Deb

Founder and Managing Editor

DoubleSpeak Magazine.