The very nature of photographic art being instantly relatable as opposed to traditional art forms takes a jump up when that art is born out of the iPhone camera. That and the simplistic nature of the iPhone’s camera makes for great challenge in terms of creating photographic art that is both experimental and worthy of cutting edge printing techniques.

In coining the term ‘iPhonography’, I wished to create a completely new genre of photography, where the focus wasn’t on the functional ability or the lack thereof of the iPhone camera but to put the onus back on artistic ability, especially whilst using a basic photographic device.

And thereby, the resultant photographs and photographic art would be called iPhonographs. As for, whether the end experience must be virtual or not, personally, it excites me more to see them in cutting edge print form, of the analogue or the archival pigment kind.

In my iPhonographic practices, I have grown to use a manual shooting app for greater control and while processing and editing, the Lightroom Mobile app. Infrequently, I use professional photography softwares to overlay a film feel, creating montages or multi layered photographic works.

The idea of being able to create interpretative and highly artistic and unique photographic works with a humble smartphone camera, albeit one of appreciable quality, and to then reproduce them physically in the widest range of photographic print forms, is I believe, one of the most profound kinds of artistic experiences.

Shibu Arakkal

Winter | Twenty Fourteen

Shibu ArakkalIphonography – Concept Note