Writing is not the medium. Writing happens when the writer becomes a medium.

My brother Pavan KJ is a photographer. We have a lot of shared history and we share a close relationship. We generally feel that we have a deep understanding of each other’s personality. While I can say this about him on a personal level, I often find myself unable to relate to some of his photographs in the same way I relate to him as a person. He claims to have a similar response towards some of my writing. 

He is a trained photographer and I have seen his skill and the understanding of his craft. I have also worked as his assistant on many of his assignments. I am also in touch with his work as he shares it with me or on social media. 

However every once in a while he takes a photograph that is so uncharacteristic of him that I am not able to make a clear connection between the product and the person. I like all his photographs. They all look good to me while some are outstanding in terms of the way they move me. These outstandingly moving expressions seem alien to me. I find it strange that I am not able to recognise the same expressions in his personality. This is when I realised that art might not be the medium. Art happens when the artist becomes a medium. 

While Pavan takes great photographs generally, the outstanding ones may be happening when he suspends his personality. It looks like he let the space in front of him communicate with him without the influence of his thinking. This is comparable to deep listening where the listener is not interpreting anything using his intellect. He is letting the space find its voice through his photographs. At this vulnerable moment, the artist is the medium and the art is what takes place when the artists suspend their identity. 

I see great beauty and nourishment in the act of suspending the identity. I have a feeling that most people do. It is like a brief moment of rest on a long trek where we offload the heavy backpack we are carrying and truly acknowledge the beauty surrounding us. Making room for the moment to communicate with us and listen to it deeply. For me these are moments of micro transformations. These are also opportunities to remind ourselves that this life is a journey in pursuit of beauty and meaning. 

Irrespective of the art form, the phenomenon of becoming a medium might be necessary to create art. The moment of creation and creativity could be the moment where the creator has suspended their identity. The moment is its own reward. The expressions that follow this moment are purely incidental. It could emerge as a song played on a flute by a shepherd to his sheep high up in the mountains, where he is the only human being that can listen to it. It could also emerge in the form of a concert in a prestigious auditorium with a packed audience. The circumstances may determine the journey of the expression while the moment of creation always remains intimate and the value of it is deeply intrinsic. 

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