For Madhavan Pillai, the best part about a photograph is what lies behind the aesthetic laminate. The Tamil Nadu-born researcher and photographer has always been an avid lover of ancient photographic techniques.

The reason behind this love, he says, is the belief that photography has the power to revolutionise the world. So, in 2006, he decided to take this passion to new heights and moved to the US to study daguerreotype.

This complex form of photography, known as among the first in the world, involves producing images on highly polished silver-clad copper plates.

Though the art was tricky, Madhavan had the advantage of being mentored by the best — none other than American daguerreotypist Jerry Spagnoli.

After having learned a great deal, he returned to India and set up the Goa Centre for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP) in 2009. The organisation works to research and experiment with historical processes used in photography, and spread the knowledge among artists across India.

“It was the only centre in the country to do this at the time,” says Madhavan, adding that their residency programmes saw artists from Japan, Mexico, and other countries come and experiment with alternative photographic techniques.

Scrolling through the yellowed pages of time

Through the course of his research at the Goa-CAP, he explored different resources, both digital and physical, and would visit museums and archives to investigate the photographic techniques used for certain pictures. A source he relied upon heavily was the esteemed British Library.

“I found the time period from 1836 to 1886 to be one of the most significant ones. It saw a period of transition from daguerreotype to the more novel Kodak. All over, there was the advent of new chemicals in photography and it was a very exciting time,” he says.

In fact, the period was an important milestone, both historically and scientifically, says Madhavan. “The British used photography to colonise the subcontinent. During this time, India was seeing a shift, from being controlled by the East India Company to becoming a Queen-owned country. Many important milestones happened at this time.”

At the Goa-CAP, Madhavan began to explore this time period and the techniques........

© The Better India