Meet Kaustav Sarkar

We were lucky to catch up with Kaustav Sarkar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kaustav, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

My optimism comes from my faith in the uncertainty of life on the principle that I do good and in the due course of time good shall return to me. There may be times that seem hard, but it shall pass too. It also comes from the generosity, belief, and honesty that I have grown up with. I realized that if you stick to your principles of being unconditionally good to the life of others, you get blessed at times when you expect the least from life. Sometimes when I have chased my desires in life they only seem to move farther and farther. Still, in the acceptance that I keep doing what I do and not worry about the outcome, life presented me with opportunities that resulted in progress and discovering newfound ways of finding meaning purpose, and a resource to thrive and grow to push my limits.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

For almost a decade now I have been practicing the art of photography. It has become a part of me and my identity over the years and I could not imagine a day without making photographs. Versatility has been one of my preferences in defining my work. Within the context of photography, I have been exploring and practicing different genres. While people stick to a style and continue honing it focusing on perfection, I tend to prefer the exploration as I feel photography as a medium of artistic expression goes far beyond the predefined rules and judgment of right and wrong. It doesn’t fit in a box and so would I like to think of myself outside the box.
In the process, I took a break from my professional practice of photographing for commercial projects to learn other new media technologies that would help augment my visual aesthetics. I recently completed my master’s in design and media technologies which I am implementing into my practice of visual arts.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The three most important qualities, skills, or knowledge I believe have helped me in my journey would be to first realize that you are unique in your own way and that others can not define who you are but you. So keeping on building on personal skills that help the process and practice of your art is a must.

Secondly, trust yourself and your instincts in the work that you are doing. As artists, we often get overly critical of our work and think it is not enough by comparing it to others. This is in continuation to the first point of uniqueness where comparing to others will only limit our potential to outgrow ourselves. Taking inspiration and copying others leads to a distance but then it is one’s uniqueness that defines the path.

Third, looking beyond the core medium of one’s practice helps redefine the perspectives. My core practice is photography but I still draw inspiration beyond photography from other forms of art and technology. I believe this is instrumental in pushing one’s boundaries allowing one to think beyond the box without just following the trend.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I am looking to collaborate with other artists, and performers trying to build their lives as immigrants by documenting their art forms, rigor, and practice through photographic storytelling. I want to tell more stories through photographs of individuals or groups of people who want their stories to be heard and appreciated or are willing to be documented in their journey of life and struggle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kaustavsarkar.in/
• Instagram: https://www.kaustavsarkar.in/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaustavsarkar24/