Wabi-Sabi
What is Wabi-Sabi?..... Well, that's harder to answer than you might think. If you were to ask a Japanese person they will often shrug their shoulders, it's not that they don't know what it is it's just they have possibly never had to express what it is. So then, and for the object of this study it is essentially the acceptance of impermanence, the wear, the patina, the LIFE that a person or object goes through. Once only a Japanese concept it has infiltrated the western world over the last few years and has been part of my life for abouit a decade, sometimes without knowing it. For me I express this love for Wabi-Sabi through my photography because as a photographer images are how I express myself, they are my hopes, dreams, feelings and an extension of everything I am. Some people see Wabi-Sabi as 'happy accidents' ... this description doesn't work for me, there is nothing accidental in Japanese culture and the fact that Wabi-Sabi was born from the intricate and elaborate tea ceremony tells you that there is nothing accidental about it. I try to use Wabi-Sabi in my photography by taking a more Lo-Fi approach ... this manifests itself in the use of vintage lenses, film photography and vintage digital with all these things producing grain, scratches when in film use and they get left in..... Life isn't perfect so why should I expect photography to be? Photography for me should be about passion and feeling and not megapixels and these cameras that I use have a personality and quirks and are deliberatley chosen for that personality. I hope you enjoy these images, this is my interpretation of something that affects my life profoundly. Davie Hudson August 2020