Vishnu Thilak likes to approach photography with a different perspective. Rather than capturing candid moments, he likes to narrate stories through his photographs. A well-scripted story is an inevitable factor for a movie, short film or even a small play to convey the message it wants to deliver. However, when a set of photographs alone narrate a story, the execution is a tough job. Vishnu who is a professional photographer, finds joy in doing exactly what seems challenging to him. He says, “Being a product photographer, I am required to take appealing photographs of the products that can lure the customers. But, I have always tried to do it in a unique way. I try and create a story in the frame so that the customers get a feeling that they have watched the advertisement of the product by looking at the photograph. They should feel as if they want to buy the product.”
The urge of telling stories through photo series keeps him busy finding out new and quirky ideas for execution. The theme of his latest photo series is zodiac sign – Taurean female spirit. Quizzed about his interest in sun signs and what made him select Taurus as the subject, Vishnu says, “There are many photographs that depict the character of a person through his/her gestures, but portraying a person’s characteristic behaviour as per his /her zodiac sign is a not-so-common idea. I, therefore, thought it would be unique to try it out.
The art of seduction is knowing what she really wants and giving it to her in a way that takes her breath away.
“As for selecting Taurus, it is a zodiac sign of which earth is the element it is directly related to; therefore, I felt that the chances of getting realistic photographs are more. In addition to this, Taureans’ are the strongest yet deepest emotions that humans can feel. They are stubborn, possessive, and uncompromising. On the other hand, they are also reliable, patient, practical, devoted, responsible, and stable. Most of these features are typical to females, which is the reason why I thought it would be apt to celebrate the Taurean female spirit.”
The twinkle in her eyes reveals a deeper more passionate side to her personality. She is stronger than she looks and wise beyond her years.
The series consists of six photographs, each of which has a caption written by Vishnu himself. The bull head is the symbol of Taurus and thus forms an important element of the series. “Looking at the photographs in the sequential order and reading the captions at the same time will make you feel as if someone is reading out a story. I feel that many women and girls out there would relate to the story that I am trying to convey through my series because at some point of time, they all might have thought of becoming like this or might have transformed themselves to be like this. The bull’s head symbolises the strength that is typical to Taurean’s, especially women” he concludes.
