Artist Bio
Pratyush Swarup has completed his BFA at the School of the art Institute of Chicago and is currently pursuing his MFA at the California College of Arts in SF. Born and brought up in India and studying in the United States he is a recipient of a merit scholarship at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as California College of Arts and 3 global citizen awards. Originally a painter and illustrator now a photographer and videographer, he is keen on expanding his arsenal of creative mediums.
His work focuses on capturing the mundane in interesting ways, capturing movement into standing moments in time, commercial photography, landscape, and his surroundings. An avid traveler he has tried to photograph as much of the world around him and continues his adventures to capture the world someday. He works as the official photographer and part-time videographer at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as at Lucid Creative Agency as a production assistant, videographer, and photographer, along with maintaining his own practice.
Artist Statement
As life moves at a faster and faster pace every day, I am taken aback by the impermanence of everything. Many things that we encounter or, experience are momentary. Life feels like an illusion. In this body of work, I am capturing images of things that do not necessarily exist in a single moment but over a period of time. I consider the temporal nature of light and shadows using ‘light painting’ to capture the energy of light, shadows, and body movement. These airy images also capture the invisible and fleeting moments, through the interaction between light, color, and people. Each image is a different experience. These images act as portals into spaces and moments in time that we can relate to, through the movement, color and abstract and unknown nature of these images.
The process of leaving the shutter open for longer durations allows each photograph to be unique due to the changing movements of light and the body. The endless possibilities to manipulate the images in post-production allows my imagination to flare. I am always eager to see the final image as each one is unique and different.