One definition of chaos is when nonlinear things are impossible to predict and control. If law and order rule the universe, chaos, by contrast, is the totally disorganized opposite.
I always seek out such scenes to match my surroundings with my quiet inner state when I’m photographing. Then I re-photograph each image with a film camera more than 5 times and process them with the high-temperature developer at each time. So then, to produce more and more variations in the final image. The quality-degraded photographs show the opposite of the quiet and peaceful content. I use this procedure to achieve the balance between the stillness and dynamic to explore the essence of the chaos.
I’m curious about what the image will become after so many processes. What type of photograph is it? Is it still an image? How do I name it? The result is random—no one knows what it will look like. It’s impossible to control the result by layering these processes on top of the same images, together.
About Daren You
Daren You is a photographer currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has won and been shortlisted in several influential awards, such as Hariban Awards, LensCulture Emerging Talents Awards, Working Artist Photography Award and Sony World Photography Awards. His work has been published in LensCulture Magazine, i-D, Der Greif Magazine, Phases Magazine and the official blog of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. [Official Website]
