Eye for an eye

Here’s an intriguing exhibition for the art lovers in the Capital! Stupid Eye - created by artist Vipul Amar and psychologist Harsheen K Arora brings together two very different disciplines - psychology and photography. 

Stupid Eye depicts the process of photographing one’s True Self as a technique to delve deeper into human psyche and bring out the real you! Vipul Amar Studio of Photographic Arts and Psychologist Harsheen K Arora initiated this project where the concept of self-actualization is explored by focusing on one’s Real Vs the Ideal Self. 

Stupid comes from its Latin origins, stupere, meaning: be amazed or stunned, with what your inner eye can make you see.

As Jung (1978) stated that, ‘It requires no art to become stupid; the whole art lies in extracting wisdom from stupidity. Stupidity is the mother of the wise but cleverness never.’ The study is based on the premise, that with a better understanding of one’s true self, one is better equipped to realize one’s actual potential. Stupid Eye is a culmination of photography with psychological therapeutic techniques to enhance an individual’s insight into their self.

Originating from the Humanistic School of thought, Real Self stands for the way an individual actually is, whereas ideal self on the other hand is the person one wants to be…The idea behind Stupid Eye is to be able to bridge this gap between the two, and move toward self-actualization - the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming (Maslow, 2006). 

 Through photography and psychology the aim was to o help each person look underneath and connect with their true self; to capture that true self as seen by them and that which emerges out of their therapy sessions into a photograph and to give them that picture of themselves - it being their own little mirror for life.

Each member who registered became a part of the Stupid Eye family. It was the group at work! Every member was a wheel in the journey of every other member. In the first meeting a group was formed – where the discussion led to and revolved around every member’s Real Vs Ideal Self.

This project began in June 2012 with the first meet-up of a group of people in Mumbai. A brilliant first meeting that was meant to be an hour but lasted six! led to the scope of this project becoming what it is today. Post the photo-shoots for Mumbai and Delhi with the members’ stories being captured beautifully in photographs and through videos made of the entire process reached completion. All the stories that were shared, shot and captured in time are now ready to be revealed to the world.