INTO THE SUBCONCIOUS with artist- Prince Beguin

 

To be a photographer, you need to see the world around you. However, to be an artist, you need to experience the world around you. Artist-photographer Prince Beguin’s experiences take shape in some of the most interesting and sometimes peculiar angles. Particularly intriguing is the artist’s mentality towards everyday things that we don’t often notice about life and our existence. It is the artist’s thought process and the personal meanings he attaches to these photos that give the viewer a reason to look again, this time not just with their eyes, but with their consciousness. Here are five interesting ways in which Prince encounters the world through photographs.

-The Time traveler

“…my mind takes me back to the very first time I can remember looking at a photo as a child…seeing a memory of my parents, way before my time…teleporting me back to the past…giving me a feel of the moment that was captured in real time.”

Figure 1: Distant Dreams

The artist notably expresses the intrigue within his child like mind by this wonder at the time. The ability to mentally step into a time before you and the possibility of existing in that moment. The phenomenon of it being distant yet close is what he found most fascinating about this photo.

Deeper reflections on this innocent experience could become a gateway into further questioning the everyday. For instance, how strange it is that we rarely think about our parents having had a whole life before us, and that what we know is probably only about 10% which is either from the stories they tell us or the photos they show us. It also makes us realize that we are capable of being so many versions of ourselves in one life time, not just because of the inevitable physical evolution we experience over time but the fact that we experience and respond to the world differently at different times in our lives. Photos remind us that life is an actual journey. A journey with no return. Or is it our bodies tying us down to the present? Prince believes that while our bodies may be tied to the present, our souls have visited and revisited the past several times, we just don’t usually think about it.

Photographs can be more than just records of people, places and things. If we take the time to listen, photographs can become for us a magical portal through which we can get to relive our past lives or the lives of others. A single photograph possesses the power to awaken thousands of memories, sparking off an entire chain of detailed events of a time once lived. Far beyond what that moment in time looked like, Photographs can also remind us of the smell, taste and sound of time. Perhaps we ought to appreciate photographs and photographers more in the sense that they attempt to preserve time. The more you think about it, the crazier it becomes.

-A universal exchange

“Everyone inspires me. Because I’m an artist, once I capture an energy or a feeling from someone and put it in my work or use that energy to create my work, that’s an inspiration from that person…whether they know it or don’t know it.”

                 

                                                         

Figure 2: One Last Sunset Before You Go 1, 2, 3

Prince’s description of his practice greatly leans into the conviction of a universal exchange of energies in which he doesn’t necessarily choose his subjects but rather feels drawn towards them. From the subtle union of complexity versus tenderness within nature’s existence to the enduring resilience of architectural manifestation taking up space and time, to people, strangers, many of whom he meets once and will probably never see again, Prince takes it upon himself to use the gift of sight as he likes to call it, to not only see and observe but also to appreciate and consequently remember these moments through the medium of photographs. “As a person who sees, I see and appreciate everything around me.” This makes him a channel of transmission of sorts in his own being.

This kind of energy exchange notably goes further ahead to encompass our entire understanding of life. As human beings we are designed to coexist in all aspects of life and it is from this coexistence that we are able to grow because as the artist says, “what we learn from other people is what we reflect back in form of us as a package, as a person.” Our being therefore is shaped by our shared experiences as an eco-system.

Speaking of meeting people, I can’t help but recognize how strange it is that every day we get to meet so many people that we may never ever see again, and how quickly we forget about their existence and the fact that they appeared, even for a split second, in the movie of our lives. This is without mentioning the possibility that they might have influenced the direction of events in our lives even if it’s to the slightest extent and vise versa. The waitress who served you at a restaurant last week, the hawker from whom you bought a bottle of water today, the uber driver who got you home last night. These seem like examples of everyday occurrences. However, isn’t it fascinating how these strangers actually have a whole detailed life story of their own that you know nothing about! I like to believe, that a piece of that short trivial exchange from this random event of crossing of paths stays with us in a certain sense and it counts as a connection of sorts to that person. Furthermore, because we get to encounter so many people every day in this manner, this could mean that we are all inter-connected in some sort of crazy cobweb of existence. This also brings us to the realization of just how tiny we are in the bigger picture.

The artist unconsciously plays a vital role in elevating an often-overlooked experience into an exploration of who we are, what our place is and what part we play within the entirety of the universe.

-Forms of sight:

“Black and white photos to me are a way I see the world. The way I first see the world, then the color comes in later.”

Sight means the ability to see. Physical sight specifically means the ability to see using one’s eyes, aided by the presence of light. However, while sight is one thing, what and how we see is another thing altogether.

When asked what he finds most intriguing about black and white photos, Prince explains that he doesn’t wish to dwell much on color because he believes that we are not really sure about all the colors we can see. “You only see the reflection that bounces back to your eye and the eye can then transform that into an image through your brain.” Could there be hidden unidentified hues within the visible spectrum? The artist’s philosophy brings us to question if we have surely succeeded 100% at breaking down the visible spectrum to the very last tint and shade. Are these the ones we usually see, the ones we choose to see, or the ones we can see?

Could this mean that perhaps the saying; there’s more to what meets the eye can be internalized more in its own literal sense? He goes on to speak about different forms of sight. Artificially designed forms of sight like x-ray, ultra sound and night vision in contrast with naturally occurring forms such as animal vision or even color blindness in human beings. Sight from both internal and external factors, all interesting different ways in which the eyes perceive our surroundings.

An interesting thought on colorblindness could be, the possibility of it being seen less as a defect and more as a unique form of sight. It kind of compels one imagine what it would be like if we were all born with a specific kind of color blindness. Imagine the thought of a world where aside from fundamental black and white, some people would see only yellows, some only blues and others only reds! How would this enhance the way we relate with each other and how we see and experience the world depending on the colors we see?

      Figure 3: Self Portrait                                                     Figure 4: The Calm Before The Storm

Prince’s preferred form of sight therefore is in black and white. The artist believes that we need to learn how to see from black and white to color. We need to unlearn whatever we think or believe we know and see in order to unlock a new understanding of how we view existence.

-Motion Images:

“Motion creates continuity.”

French impressionist artist Edgar Degas once said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Similarly, Prince maneuvers the art of photography as an extension beyond what a camera can do. While the fundamental mode of operation of a camera only goes as far as mimicking reality, it is at this point that photography stops and art begins and further continues to extend to untold ends.

However, it may also require the audience’s desire to see what the artist wants to reveal to them. For this kind of exchange to happen therefore, a degree of open mindedness is required.

The motion images bring photos to life. Unlike actual videos where the specific nature of the moment is shaped and instilled in the viewer’s mind, the motion images leave more to be desired as they tend to provoke the viewer to further imagine the movement in the moment in their own unique version. To close their eyes and listen. To step into the blur and be present in the moment while drawing from their own aesthetic as individuals. The multiplicity of who we are and how we see the world continues to prevail once more. The blur in the motion images also tend to evoke a certain spiritual presence, creating an almost surreal world with endless possibilities.

Sometimes we may wish that life could go as planned. Unfortunately or fortunately, life is never a clear picture. The motion images for me are a true reflection of how unpredictable life can be. However they also reflect how the human race always learn to adapt, evolve and prosper in the face of the unknown as we move along and that is powerful.

	Figure 5: Euphoria 2

      Figure 6: The conjuring                                             Figure 7: Euphoria 1

-Lingering spirits, lingering stories:

“I believe it’s a creation and it speaks, because the people who did it look at it and it’s them, and it lives on when they are dead…”

Growing up as an adventurous child, Prince spent the greater part of his childhood roaming the streets of his neighborhood, unconsciously yet constantly being drawn to towering buildings.

Architecture embodying the spirits and stories of the people that brought it to life and further continuing to gather experiences of its inhabitants over the decades should be a fascinating superpower indeed. One can’t help but wonder what the walls would have to say if they could actually speak. Talk of buildings that have been built and rebuilt, renovated and reinvented over the years. Buildings that have seen the dusk and dawn of many revolutions and have had the opportunity to see out the old generations and usher in the new. Photographing these buildings consequently serves as an archive of sorts because as he says, “…just like a photograph, buildings tell stories.”

A case in study is the famous Mary Stuart Hall of residence at Makerere University that was built in the early 1950’s. Known for its signature 10 floor-high “tower,” the building has been inhabited by generations of students over the decades. It has lived through many deadly university strikes and disasters in form of fires and suicide cases involving students jumping from the higher floors. It has witnessed countless guild election campaign seasons in their full vibrancy and unavoidable chaos. The rooms have probably been repainted a million times by the changing residents, each time transforming the building’s character. The building celebrates the journeys of the students, but most of all, Mary Stuart embodies the fighting spirit of Makerere!

                                  

 Figure 8: Mary Stuart

-Final remarks                           

“To anyone with a mind, with eyes, with the love for creativity, keep doing your thing but learn from other people because that is who we are. Let’s work together and tell better stories. So that the children to come will enjoy the stories from our time.”

Beguin Prince

Figure 9: Coexistence

Written by Gloria Coutinho

coutinhogloria131@gmail.com