DEB ACHAK
DESTIG TORONTO - ART | DESIGN | TRAVEL - ISSUE 09 / JANUARY 2021
BEST OF 2020 | TODAY'S GREAT CANADIAN ARTISTS | SPECIAL ART FEATURES | HOT PICKS
"HOW MARVELOUS THAT THEY BROUGHT FORTH SUCH MAGNIFICIENCE FROM THEIR BRUSHES AND CHISELS." - ANONYMOUS
"This is the yin-yang in photography. The camera is a highly technical device, and we must understand how it functions in order to use it effectively. Creativity, on the other hand, wants to roam and wander, without constraints. I am always trying to push the capacity of my camera to create feminine, painterly photographs. I love the tension there."
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Deb Achak is an American photographer working in
children were born. I picked up a camera a few years later
both conceptual and street photography. Her
and fell down an incredible creative rabbit hole. In some
conceptual photography gives form to memory,
ways, it feels like the medium picked me. I thought I was
energy, and the exploration of spirituality. Her street
buying camera gear to capture my children, but it seems
photography, captured in beaches throughout the
the universe had other ideas. In hindsight, I think art was
world, documents the human experience of water. In
always my path, but it took time away from it for me to
both genres, Achak stretches the capacity of the
realize it’s what I wanted to do full time. I didn’t have the
camera to create painterly, sensual photographs rich
role model of a working artist when I was growing up. It
in meaning and story.
never occurred to me that I could choose such an extraordinary thing as a career.
Share with us a bit about your background and why you became an artist.
You are a self-trained photographer and filmmaker;
I studied literature and art as an undergraduate, but
share with us your journey to an acclaimed artist.
my first career was as a social worker. I worked in
I feel so grateful for how things unfolded for me. In the
various hospitals with high risk women and children
early years of my photography, I focused exclusively on
for over a decade, but left the career when my own
personal work (my children, self-portraiture, filmmaking).
I refused to label what my work was,
I knew it was a rare and beautiful thing to
instead I followed my curiosity and
stumble upon a career as fulfilling as
intuition. As much as possible, I shut out
photography, so I grabbed hold with both
outside references so I could listen to my
hands and went for it.
own instincts and find my voice. How would you describe your style of
"I prefer to capture work that lights me up without too much conscious thought. Afterwards, I examine the pictures to see what they are telling me. Most artists bristle at the idea of being put into a box of any sort, and I suppose I am no different."
I reminded myself that 50 years ago
photography?
artists weren’t bombarded with social
I suppose it’s easiest to say that my work
media and the like. They had what was
lives in the fine art category. I often think
what was inside of them and in front of
in terms of art on walls and (one day
them. It’s impossible to shut out all
hopefully) in books. I create work in
influences these days, but as much as
several different genres. One approach to
possible I kept my eyes focused on my
shooting isn’t enough for me. I love to
own internal pull. If something excited or
experiment and try new things.
fascinated me, I went towards it. This way of working became my foundation and it
Your work is in two areas - Conceptual
served me very well once I emerged in a
and Street Photography. How did you
more public way.
identify these pathways? I prefer to capture work that lights me up
It’s tricky to call myself self-trained
without too much conscious thought.
because
of
Afterwards, I examine the pictures to see
mentorship and education from some of
what they are telling me. Most artists
the finest photographers and printers
bristle at the idea of being put into a box
working today. There is also something to
of any sort, and I suppose I am no
be said for finding your calling later in life.
different. But, it’s useful to ground the
I
have
availed
myself
"Creating work in several genres is exciting to me. I feel like different hemispheres of my brain are activated when I toggle between the two."
work in a category from time to time. Conceptual
universe within my work, but I love it just the same. My
photography is so broad that it gives me infinite freedom.
brand of street photography is captured from the water.
It can hold space for symbolic pictures, landscapes,
In a way it represents its own little subset within the
portraiture, experimental techniques, storytelling, self-
wider world of street photography which we typically
portraiture and on and on. I don’t feel confined under
think of as being shot on city streets. Creating work in
that umbrella.
several genres is exciting to me. I feel like different hemispheres of my brain are activated when I toggle
My street photography tends to sit in it’s own little
between the two.
"What we need to know is inside of us. It’s all there, just trust it."
You have spoken about the power you feel when in deep flow with your art. What does creating with a still mind unlock in you? It unlocks everything for me. My human brain can only come up with a limited set of ideas to photograph, but when I release preconceived expectations and rigid ideas, I create things that surprise me. This is the yin-yang in photography. The camera is a highly technical device, and we must understand how it functions in order to use it effectively. Creativity, on the other hand, wants to roam and wander, without constraints. I am always trying to push the capacity of my camera to create feminine, painterly photographs. I love the tension there. Your newest series is 'My Eyes Need Beauty'. Tell us about this. My Eyes Need Beauty was created from a dark place. 2020 has been rough for all of us, but things took an especially difficult turn for me in September when the entire west coast was blanketed in toxic smoke from the wildfires raging in California, Oregon, and Washington.
For ten days, the air was too hazardous to go outside. I worried for my children and for our planet more than ever before. Being cloistered inside, cut off from nature, broke something in me. It’s the lowest I have been during all the challenges and unrest of 2020. I responded in the healthiest way I could, I made bold, painterly photographs of flowers floating in water. I couldn’t breathe safely, but I could give my eyes something on which to feast. 'Side By Each Facing the Sun' is an exploration of the root chakra. What do you want to evoke in viewers? I would love to encourage a conversation or curiosity about our energetic anatomy. It’s such a big and heady topic, so I broke it down to my own personal relationship with the root chakra, the first of seven chakras within each of us. What is a chakra? What does it mean? When I first learned about them, I was fascinated. I would like to encourage others to consider their own. 'She Told Us To Trust Our Intuition' was inspired by your late mother, kindly tell us about this. I am so lucky to have had a loving, inspiring, supportive mother. She died of cancer twelve years ago at the age of 64, just twenty five days before my second son was born. It was such a complex time for me emotionally -grief and joy intertwined. Mothering and mother-loss within the same breath. It took me years to process it all. Her parting words to me and my siblings were, trust your gut instincts. I think those four simple words, strung together, are the most profound gift that a mother could leave her children with. What we need to know is inside of us. It’s all there, just trust it. The words have become a mantra for me. The series is a love letter to my mother, and also a way of co-creating with her. My relationship with my mother continues
"Capturing regular people suspended in water - seeing each individual's inherent beauty regardless of their age or size really touched me. I see the poetry we all possess. It made me fall in love with humanity."
after her death, and I explore that in She Told Us To Trust Our Intuition. 'The Aquatic Street' and 'Ebb and Flow' are ongoing documentations of the human experience of water. What did you learnt about our connection to water? I stumbled upon both bodies of work, which seems to be my way. Just like with my early camera work, I
thought I was purchasing equipment to photograph my
gave myself the assignment to capture everyday people
sons, but they tired of me following them around in the
enjoying a day at the beach from the vantage point of
water. On one particular day, my youngest son let me
the water. As the work went on, two things became
know in no uncertain terms that he wanted to play with
clear. The first was that the work was about joy -- I am in
his friends in the waves without constant interruptions
my joy when I am creating it, and the subjects are too.
from me. I took the hint and swam away from him out towards open water. I kept shooting and later fell in love
People don’t go to the beach to have a bad time. They go
with the photographs. That work became my first series,
to swim and play with friends and family, to commune
Ebb and Flow. I still shoot work for that series wherever
with nature, to drink up the sun. It’s a remarkable feeling
I go, and perhaps I always will. I love investigating subtle
to be in that positive energy when I work. In addition,
differences in water color, texture, light, etc. Lately, I
everyday people are extraordinarily beautiful in the
have taken to shooting in the water after sunset with
water. Capturing regular people suspended in water --
longer and longer shutter speeds. I love the challenge of
seeing each individual's inherent beauty regardless of
bringing something new and fresh to the work.
their age or size --- really touched me. I see the poetry we all possess. It made me fall in love with humanity. The
The Aquatic Street is also something I stumbled into. It
Aquatic Street is, technically speaking, very difficult to
all began with one image, The Queue, that I shot while
shoot. Swimming to get in place to get a good shot,
my oldest son was climbing the rocks at Black Rock
sometimes treading water for hours at certain locations,
Beach on Maui. He was tentative about climbing, and I
dealing with water spots on the camera housing, staying
lingered nearby to make sure he was safe. It was a lucky
safe in huge surf and occasional riptides -- it can be quite
shot, and I loved it right away but didn’t have a place for
challenging at times. All street photography is hard, but
it in any other body of work. It was a stand-alone image
swimming with a camera is a bit like Ginger Rogers and
for about a year or more until I decided that
Fred Astaire on the dance floor --- she did everything he
photographing strangers in the water was downright
did but backward and in heels. Shooting in the water
intoxicating. I traveled to Italy the following year and
feels a bit like that, but I love it.
How has your art practise evolved during your career?
2019 and 2020 was huge for me. Historically, the
I try to focus on process and daily progress. Missteps
medium was largely dominated by men, but Gulnara
occur when I hold on to rigid outcomes and
Samiolova has sparked a movement with her dedication
expectations. Staying present in the now works best for
to elevating women’s work in street photography. I also
me. It keeps the work fresher and more honest. There is
love having my work represented in galleries. The
an interesting dance between being disciplined enough
opportunity for exhibitions and putting work in homes
to land the plane, yet open and loose enough to find
and public spaces is the great honor of my career.
magic and inspiration. With each passing year, I get more adept at the steps. Recently, I returned to an
Share with us how 2020 impacted your art.
important practice that I had abandoned for a while -- I
COVID limited my ability to travel and shoot street
started bringing my camera with me everywhere again.
photography, but it gave me the push to create closer to
I don’t know why I stopped doing this, but for the last
home. I had already been doing this in my conceptual
few years, the habit fell away and I began to think of my
work. I simply leaned in a bit harder. The mood in the
camera as something I used only when I was in work-
United States has been dark for four years, making art
mode. I missed out on so much.
all the more important. Creating beauty during times of
So, I am back to having it with me at all times. I am back
stress or tension is therapeutic on many levels. I tried, in
to framing shots constantly and I love it. Driving to the
my personal and professional life, to stay fully engaged
grocery store or running errands -- I’m ready. You never
and activated, but hopeful too. In my heart, I am an
know when you will be gifted something extraordinary.
optimist and someone who wants peace and harmony. I hope the consciousness will shift back to more
How has all the recognition of your art affected you?
responsible leadership and unity. We need it.
Having my street photography recognized in the Women Street Photographers annual exhibition 2018,
Website: www.debachak.com / IG: @debachak