There’s no shortage of inspiration for photographers these days, from personal experiences and other creative disciplines, to culture and philosophy. Today’s featured video gives us an example of the latter, with a photography project inspired by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. If you’re looking for a new approach or a fresh idea for your own projects, this should be worth the watch.
In the video, Austria-based photographer and filmmaker Teo Crawford shares how wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy centered on finding beauty in the transience and imperfection of life, inspired the topic of his bachelor thesis. While imperfection is often viewed negatively in various creative disciplines, wabi-sabi shifts the perspective towards perfection as a fleeting or temporary state, and thus, an unrealistic and unattainable goal.
While wabi-sabi has made an impact in various creative disciplines like visual art and interior design, it’s hardly applied to photography. This gave Crawford the idea to explore the aesthetics that stem from the values and mindset created by the philosophy. He also cited the works of Todd Hido and Hiroshi Sugimoto as examples of these aesthetics.
Putting the ideas he percolated in his thesis to work, Crawford recently took on a new project using the Polaroid I-2 instant camera. Given the low-fi quality of Polaroid photos, it’s easy to see that he picked the best medium to demonstrate the visual manifestations of wabi-sabi in photography.
What do you think of Teo Crawford’s ideas on translating the concepts and aesthetics of wabi-sabi into photography? Is it something you also want to try for your next project? Share your thoughts in the comments below, let’s start a discussion!
