My third year Final Major Project has been inspired by the works of Franz Kafka, a German-speaking Bohemian novelist who wrote novels and short stories during the turn of the 20th century. My project titled Existential Oddity is relating to existence. It comes from the philosophical term ‘existentialism’ that is about an individual’s existence and the space surrounding them. This is formed on our living experiences of thinking, feeling, acting and any other experience that is part of our existence, or one that we create for ourselves. It can also mean the time and space surrounding us.

Kafka was best known for his uniquely dark, disorientating and surreal writing style. This style and quality were so peculiar to him that anything that resembled it came to be known as Kafkaesque. This term also applies to someone’s life that is filled with uncertainties and negativity. The themes in Kafka’s written work consisted of absurdity, existential anxiety, realism, surrealism, alienation and guilt, while being a flamboyant writer at the same time. My photographs have explored some of the oddities of Kafka’s existence, his way of thinking and being, some of which we all experience from time to time, as part of our existence, in varying degrees. More than the literal representation of his thoughts, these photographs are my interpretation of his thoughts and existence. I have been able to play with light and shadow in a way that resembles his dark-and-vibrant life, of self-doubt and intelligence. My photographs, like his life, are meant to be vague and open to interpretations. Black-and-white was my choice to explore Kafka’s world.

Some of my images are created in a theatrical manner to resemble the drama of Kafka’s controversial life. My attempt has been to replicate the impact of Kafka’s powerful writing through thought-provoking images. I have been experimental when doing so, creating either spontaneously, or in a constructed way, outdoors and/or indoors settings. The staged scenes are made to look ‘naturally’ absurd, like Kafka’s personality came natural to him, even if complex.

Kafka’s books were my original inspiration when creating photographs, however, there are other writers that have inspired me along the way. Arthur Bondar’s Shadows of Wormwood depicts a series of haunting scenes set in overcast days with fog, smoke and general haziness and isolation in the scenes. I have also been inspired by the Dogra Magra series of Kyusaku Yumeno which was compared to Kafka’s work, and is a very dark and nightmarish series about a man with memory loss after waking up in a hospital, and there is confusion as to whether he is part of a strange psychological experiment. This work reminded me of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis where the salesman wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant insect. Jeff Wall’s image Odradek, shows a listless girl walking down a gloomy staircase in a dilapidated building giving the vibe of a very lonesome existence. Wall’s image was, in fact, inspired by Kafka’s short story, The Cares of a Family Man 1919. In that story, Odradek is an oddly part-wooden-and-part-living creature, found lurking around in stairways and abandoned buildings, not known to the outside world. Wall’s themes revolve around the invisible and the unknown, exactly like the creature. These personality traits were Kafka’s creation of his mental state.

My ideas also developed from observing the works of landscape photographers. For example, Ansel Adams’ landscape photographs consisting of lakes and mountains, where he dramatically juxtaposes deep shadows with rich whites and plays with reflections, work well as an analogy for the negatives and positives of life.

Being a big fan of Film Noir, I have watched many films by continuously pausing to observe the scenes as still images, and hence, the genre was my biggest influence when it came to composition, space, lighting, and the use of shadows. As Film Noir was marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace, I have tried to apply the elements of being watched, being empty, being frightened, being lonely, being there but not there, representing darkness, isolation, confusion, ambiguity and fear of the unknown.

My project is created for people of all age groups and all walks of life. I want to initiate a dialogue among viewers, for them to understand and accept our lives’ absurdities and uncertainties and to be fearless in expressing them. In reaction to my images, I hope people would pause, observe, think and talk about. As each one of us has a unique take on things we encounter, the interpretation of these images will be subjective too, which should make for an interesting dialogue. I hope that it inspires people to write and tell stories, to reminisce phases of their lives, to confront their insecurities instead of supressing their inner feelings, and to have a fulfilling life free from unnecessary anxieties. I hope my work can inspire other artists and photographers, students, writers, teachers and parents, and help in churning their imagination.

In terms of technical aspects, I have used a digital camera (mostly Canon DLSRs) and lenses of various focal lengths for my project. I converted all my images to black-and-white. I did this because I believed it conveyed the message behind my project better. The fact that Kafka was around in the early 20th century, a period that we know only as monochrome period because of the photographs from that time, one could be led to believe that my photographs are Kafka’s own landscape and/or perspective.

Through the wall exhibition, I am hoping that my photographs will resonate with each and every viewer, as some or other time in our lives, we all have had Kafkaesque moments/feelings, that has either been supressed or misunderstood.

I will be using 8 photographs for my exhibit. My photographs are 24x16 inches in size and the photographic paper used for printing is Fuji Lustre DPII. I have kept them all in landscape format, and will be arranging them in two rows, to create a coherent series.

Existential Oddity will be exhibited at The Old Truman Brewery , London from  23rd June to 29th June