Photography and Text by Yash Killa, Copyright 2017
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PATTERNS
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So what makes a photograph pleasant to the eyes or stand out. Is it really subjective in nature, or is there science behind it?
This is what Fibonacci tries to answer using a very unique perspective. He theorizes that nature has its own numbering sequence – the Fibonacci number and the golden ratio. From the petals on a flower to the fractal-shaped snowflakes, everything around us has a mathematical background to it. Which is why, for this project, my theme is Repetitions around us. I have strived to create a series of photographs that focus on the recursions and reoccurrence of a similar structure or shape within the same area.
I have focused on structures and shapes that we see in our everyday lives. In the hustle and daily rush in the campus, one often misses the uniqueness and the beauty of the campus. Being a freshman – new to campus – the walks I took with my camera for this project seemed simply surreal and thought-provoking. There were things that I crossed everyday on my way to class, but never noticed. For example, the green colour stone walls of the College Hall perfectly lined up on top of each other linearly, or the humungous tree standing fully bloomed in the middle of the Quadrangle. It made me ponder about how self-involved we become sometimes and how we miss the subtle wonders around us that we take for granted in our lives.
When I was on the look out for patterns and repetitions in still life for the project, it made me further think about Fibonacci’s theory and to what extent is mathematics behind the level of one’s appreciation of a certain scenery or a photograph. This project made me realize that art can’t exist without science – they are codependent. Our tastes and our preferences have been developed over many experiences based on what we see around us, and what we see around us has some form of a mathematical relationship behind it (could be a different relation for different objects). And our likes and dislikes are then based upon the mathematical relationships which we prefer more as compared to those which we do not. Repetition and recursion for me signifies order in this chaos that we live in. This is why it appeals to me, and why I decided to materialise this fascination of mine through this project.
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About The Author: Yash Killa is a Freshman enrolled in the School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2021.