Waiting for the Image: Experiments in Analogue Printmaking

Initiated by curator Rahaab Allana and supported by the MurthyNAYAK Foundation, The Analogue Approach Project (TAAP) 2020 was premised on anticipation, as it actively traversed the long distance back to analogue methods of printmaking. These involve images being exposed over time; acquired after studied assessments of saturation, contrast and other desired conditions. Creative collaborator Srinivas Kuruganti worked with a range of practitioners who brought a variety of visual material—including family albums, early photographic work and found images—to a darkroom in Delhi to experiment with. While some artists were already familiar with the space and methods, others stepped into the territory of hands-on printing for the first time.

In a departure from the documentary impulse of photography, this project tapped into the possibility of experimentation with form and content using analogue photo-processes. This method involved slowing the body down through the course of engagement. Instinctive, intuitive and process-driven, the experimented images gave one a sense of the manual experience of production. The analogue experiments allowed one to use marks of age and damage to engage with the medium closely. The artists made field notes while leaving room for errors, slippages and discoveries. Time and histories were re-ordered through the juxtaposition of negatives, often creating spectral configurations in the overlaps of landscape, portraits and geometrical abstractions. This confounded questions around authorship—as the urge was directed not towards a direct replication of the original image, but a reimagination of the same through technique and interpretation.

In this conversation, Kuruganti discusses his experience of shooting on film for over three decades. He speaks of his enthusiasm for analogue printmaking and its attendant processes of controlling chemicals and light, repetitive action and tactile contact. And of having to wait for the image to emerge—in a departure from digital photography which promises instant results and ample spatial accommodation.

_{(Featured Image: A portrait of Sukanya Ghosh’s grandmother. The negative was damaged as it had got stuck to some others and pulling it apart resulted in patches on the negative. Image courtesy of The Analogue Approach Project.)}

Interview taken on April 20, 2021.