Wabi Sabi

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Ayesha Adlakha - Actor, Emcee, Creator, Coach

“I tried to remain flexible and open to the vagaries of chance; unlike Napoleon, I figured that luck, aesthetic luck included, is just the ability to exploit accidents. I grew to welcome the ripply flaws caused by a breeze or the tiny mote of dust, which ideally would settle right where I needed a comet-like streak, or the emulsion that peeled away from the plate in the corner where I hadn’t liked that telephone line anyway. Unlike the young narrator in Swann’s Way praying for the angel of certainty to visit him in his bedroom, I found myself praying for the angel of uncertainty. And many times, she visited my plates, bestowing upon them essential peculiarities, persuasive consequence, intrigue, drama and allegory.”

This excerpt from Sally Mann’s book, Hold Still, got me thinking about perfection. What is perfect anyway?

Certainly not a human face! Eyes, hairlines, noses, beards, dimples of all shapes and sizes come together in various asymmetric collages, and that’s what makes things interesting.

And the photographer’s challenge is to capture that in its most authentic state.

It’s the same thing with acting.

The challenge for an actor is to deliver a performance that is real and authentic – not perfect.

That’s why we love theatre - because of its imperfections.

Is that why we are drawn to portraits?

Ankur Sabharwal is an Oxford based actor and photographer. All the images featured have been taken by him.