Tamar Burduli
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into photography?
My driving character trait is curiosity and, by proxy, exploration. Inner and outer world exploration. Unsurprisingly, my
profession is research. Of people and societies. I am most interested in feminist anthropology.
profession is research. Of people and societies. I am most interested in feminist anthropology.
I don’t remember why I got drawn to taking photos but I remember begging my mom for any digital camera when I
was 14-15. She got it for me which was huge because we were really poor. I was curious and tried so many things as
a child and I don’t really remember or know exactly why photography was one of the very few I stuck with. The digital
photos were of such poor quality and I would play with them in Photoshop and could do that for hours. Then around
when I was around 20 a good friend gifted me a film camera and that’s when everything really started. I loved the
limits of the film camera, where you had just a few levers and options and you had to make the best out of it. That you
had to wait for it to be developed and anticipate what the results would look like which could be anything. There are
still often cases where the film or the photograph ‘burns’ or just turns out blurry (I am myopic) or just bad, and that is a
whole another exciting adventure for me as I start playing with the colors, figures, layers, and turn an allegedly bad,
unusable, unlikeable thing into a surreal, beautiful one and both the process and the end result of all of it are so
pleasurable, I cannot fathom.
was 14-15. She got it for me which was huge because we were really poor. I was curious and tried so many things as
a child and I don’t really remember or know exactly why photography was one of the very few I stuck with. The digital
photos were of such poor quality and I would play with them in Photoshop and could do that for hours. Then around
when I was around 20 a good friend gifted me a film camera and that’s when everything really started. I loved the
limits of the film camera, where you had just a few levers and options and you had to make the best out of it. That you
had to wait for it to be developed and anticipate what the results would look like which could be anything. There are
still often cases where the film or the photograph ‘burns’ or just turns out blurry (I am myopic) or just bad, and that is a
whole another exciting adventure for me as I start playing with the colors, figures, layers, and turn an allegedly bad,
unusable, unlikeable thing into a surreal, beautiful one and both the process and the end result of all of it are so
pleasurable, I cannot fathom.
What inspires you to create your art, and how do you approach the creative process?
I think it all started from escapism. Trying to find peace and focus, or focused peace of mind amidst the oppressive
micro, meso, and macro environments that tended to put me down so much. I guess this is still the main theme and
process for me, trying to find places where I feel the calmest and the wholest and take with me the fragments that
produce this feeling (the feeling that feels like a place that is home).
micro, meso, and macro environments that tended to put me down so much. I guess this is still the main theme and
process for me, trying to find places where I feel the calmest and the wholest and take with me the fragments that
produce this feeling (the feeling that feels like a place that is home).
Can you tell us about your favorite subjects to photograph, and why you're drawn to them?
My main theme from the genesis was nature. I did experiment with portraits for a bit and while those photographs are
some of the most powerful and most favorite images I have made over the years, my heart, my mind and my body
belongs to nature, the earth, the trees, the grass, the sky, the waters, the sun and the moon and all the living things in
an out. All my summers and winters as a child I was spending in the mountains where the scenery was insanely
beautiful. In summer in the city, I used to sleep on the balcony under the stars and the sky. And when I was at the
most painful time in my life as an adult, nature was the only thing that was able to bring pieces of serenity to my mind.
Every time I enter a forest, I instantly feel my body dissolving into it, I feel as one whole with it, serene and happy. All
social constructs instantly shake off of me and I remain as pure me, one with nature, perfect solitude. Touching cold
grass under my foot is one of the most favorite feelings of this lifetime, dissolving all my anxiety and hopelessness.
Many times I have cried when seeing landscapes so striking that were just pinching my heart in the right places.
some of the most powerful and most favorite images I have made over the years, my heart, my mind and my body
belongs to nature, the earth, the trees, the grass, the sky, the waters, the sun and the moon and all the living things in
an out. All my summers and winters as a child I was spending in the mountains where the scenery was insanely
beautiful. In summer in the city, I used to sleep on the balcony under the stars and the sky. And when I was at the
most painful time in my life as an adult, nature was the only thing that was able to bring pieces of serenity to my mind.
Every time I enter a forest, I instantly feel my body dissolving into it, I feel as one whole with it, serene and happy. All
social constructs instantly shake off of me and I remain as pure me, one with nature, perfect solitude. Touching cold
grass under my foot is one of the most favorite feelings of this lifetime, dissolving all my anxiety and hopelessness.
Many times I have cried when seeing landscapes so striking that were just pinching my heart in the right places.
Can you walk us through your creative process, from idea to execution?
The only thing I do is try to travel as much as possible.
How do you stay inspired and motivated as a photographer, and what do you do when you're feeling creatively stuck?
The current human world is so devastating, killing everything beautiful on this earth and the earth itself too. I feel like
each of us is forced to constantly look for something, anything that sets at least some of the negative impact of this
limitless human greed off. So staying motivated to travel to nature, to find peace and shelter, and to try to capture and
bring some of it back home, to concrete jungle, is easy, a default condition even.
each of us is forced to constantly look for something, anything that sets at least some of the negative impact of this
limitless human greed off. So staying motivated to travel to nature, to find peace and shelter, and to try to capture and
bring some of it back home, to concrete jungle, is easy, a default condition even.
If I am stuck, I just wait. I don’t force it. I trust the back of my mind to process whatever it needs to and to prompt me
to pick up and do whatever comes next.
to pick up and do whatever comes next.
