When we first received the assignment to make a symbolic camera, I was not sure what purpose such an activity would serve apart from just adding a bit of art and crafts in the mundane routine of essays. It was only when I started to pull out scraps to construct it that I realized how many of my own assumptions regarding the camera and my association with it were brought out by it. One of my earliest introductions to the theory of photography was through Sontag’s written work. One of the most influential dialogues that stuck with me, and influenced my take on the assignment was:

 

“Although photography generates works that can be called art --it requires subjectivity, it can lie, it gives aesthetic pleasure-- photography is not, to begin with, an art form at all. Like language, it is a medium in which works of art (among other things) are made.”

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Inspired by this and the discussions we had during our classes, my symbolic camera is an ode to the interactive nature of photography as a medium, and the variety of inputs it receives that influence the final image. The lenses on either side of the camera have mirrors at the end which not only show the reflexive nature of photography as a tool in taking influence from both the subject and the photographer but also signifies the focus on either end, which often lies inwards.

 

While the camera may not be functional, it is my optimal representation of the experience if taking a photograph using any device that can capture visual content.