TAT VAM ASI

Like most creative people, my quest began with a question: Who am I? Who are we all beyond our given names? During my explorations, I came across an ancient Sanskrit sentence called "Tat Vam Asi" which means "Thou are That". My understanding of this riddle is that the self (Thou) in its purest state stripped of its body, color, boundaries, culture and ego is the same as the Absolute (That) which is responsible for all origin and its phenomena. In short it's like saying a drop of water from the ocean is the same constitution as the entire ocean. While all of this is debatable, I use this credo in my photographic endeavors to look at all people in an undiluted view to portray their inner beauty beyond culture, color, creed and boundaries. My portraits from this series are seemingly disguised as gods, mystical beings and other unusual socio-cultural identities. While all these disguises are at times dramatic enough to be distractive, I attempt to capture the humanity within the subject by using "tat vam asi" to guide my inner lens. I have also organized them in a visual order where they are seeking or giving answers on their own identities.