Photographer’s Note: Mayanadi is the essential stream of my inner world. As I walk along the path, I sometimes stumble upon certain places—more precisely, I catch glimpses of my own shadow or, rather, the shadow of something that makes me halts for a moment. Then, either it embraces me for a lifetime, or I embrace it. Often in that moment of entwined emotions, I wonder which layer of the three-tiered mind is casting a shadow, upon what even. Sometimes I seek an explanation, sometimes I do not, sometimes I find one, sometimes I do not. Knowledge, action, and devotion dissolve into one where these images emerge. These images bear no distinct names, nor do I know whether they will ever come to an end. Gathering flowers fallen along the way, I hem along the current of this river—perhaps an unstrung garland, one might say.
Kousiki Jana has long explored the interplay between images and perception. Over the years, he has presented countless photographs before countless viewers, observing their instinctive urge to identify, relate, and categorise—Isn’t this that? Isn’t this somewhere? Isn’t this someone? What is this called? Where did you find it? When were you there? What’s so special about this? This relentless pursuit of recognition, this imposed obligation to provide meaning—he seeks to break free from it. Photography became an integral part of Koushiki’s daily life around 2011. Since then, his journey has spanned numerous avenues—wedding photography, product photography, event photography, and more. Yet, by 2021–22, his perspective underwent a transformation. For him, photography evolved into the performance of pure consciousness. It became his medium of self-inquiry, self-expression, and self-proclamation.
4o
DoubleSpeak 