QUANTUM | Through Your Eyes
Look closer. The world around you is full of tiny mysteries and quiet surprises, waiting to be noticed. QUANTUM: Through Your Eyes invites you to look at the familiar differently—to notice something strange in an ordinary moment, or something ordinary in the strange.
A shadow that doesn't seem to belong. A reflection that alters what is real. Two things that appear unexpectedly connected. A fleeting moment held still. A pattern that seems to shift as you look at it.
Quantum physics describes the behaviour of matter and light at the smallest scales, where the familiar rules of the everyday world begin to behave differently. Ideas such as superposition, entanglement, duality and measurement have changed how we understand what we see—and what it means to observe something at all.
Photography has its own connection to this world. Light interacting with the sensor of a digital camera involves quantum phenomena; every photograph is, in some way, a trace of light being observed and recorded.
QUANTUM: Through Your Eyes invites young photographers aged 18–30 from around the world to explore these ideas through photography. We are interested in what happens when you follow a thought, a feeling, an observation or a coincidence—and look at the world a little more closely.
What might Spin look like? What does it mean to Entangle? Where might you find Duality, Measure, Tunnel or Superpose?
Selected participants will be mentored by interdisciplinary artist Arpan Mukherjee, and their works will be showcased as part of Science Gallery Bengaluru's QUANTUM exhibition season.
Timeline:
Call goes live: 27 September 2026
Call closes: 27 October 2026
Mentorship session: 17 January 2027
Showcase: 14 February 2027
Prompts:
Spin
Entangle
Duality
Measure
Tunnel
Superpose
No prior knowledge of quantum physics is required. These prompts are only intended as conceptual starting points rather than literal definitions, and participants are encouraged to interpret them through their own personal, cultural, or imaginative perspectives.
PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES
This call is open to photographers aged 18–30 from anywhere in the world.
You may submit up to five photographs per person.
Your submission must be a photograph made by you.
Photographs must meet the minimum resolution required for exhibition: 4961 × 7016 pixels, sufficient for printing at A2 size (420 × 594 mm) at 300 ppi. Photographs that do not meet this minimum specification will not be considered.
Experimental photographic practices including multiple exposures, collage, and digital or analogue manipulation are all welcome. AI-assisted photography is permitted with disclosure, but fully AI-generated images are not eligible.
Please submit photographs as high-quality JPEG or TIFF files. File size may vary depending on format and compression; pixel dimensions are the determining requirement.
The photograph must not have previously won or placed in another competition, or been published in an official capacity in magazines, exhibitions or similar platforms.
Each photograph must be accompanied by a 50–150 word description or caption in English. If your submission is in another language, please include an English translation. Photographs without supporting text will not be considered.
Please include a brief bio of 50–150 words. This may be written in any language, but should be accompanied by an English translation.
You must own the rights to the work you submit. Any copyright violations or issues concerning permissions may result in disqualification.
If your photograph includes children, you must have secured permission from the child's parent or legal guardian to photograph and submit the work.
Any conflicts, issues or violations arising from the sharing of the photograph will be the responsibility of the photographer and/or subject. Science Gallery Bengaluru will not be liable for disputes arising from submitted works.
Photographs must not contain nudity or derogatory, racist, discriminatory or hateful commentary or imagery. Such entries will not be considered.
You retain all rights to your work. By submitting your photograph, you grant Science Gallery Bengaluru the right to use and reproduce it in connection with QUANTUM: Through Your Eyes and the QUANTUM exhibition season, including for exhibition, documentation, archival and promotional purposes. Submitted works may also be archived on the Science Gallery Bengaluru website.
ABOUT THE MENTOR
Arpan Mukherjee
Interdisciplinary Artist
Arpan Mukherjee is a visual artist, printmaker, educator, and researcher whose practice explores the intersections of photography, printmaking, material processes, and image histories. His work engages with archival and found images, historical and alternative photographic processes, and photomechanical printmaking, addressing questions of memory, migration, displacement, and changing landscapes.
With over two decades of teaching experience, he is an Associate Professor of Graphic Art (Printmaking) at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He is also co-founder of Studio Goppo, a photography research centre in Santiniketan dedicated to historical photographic processes, experimental image-making, research, and collaborative learning.
ABOUT SCIENCE GALLERY BENGALURU
Science Gallery Bengaluru (SGB) is India's only and Asia's first Science Gallery, a not-for-profit public institution at Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru. SGB was established with the founding support of the Government of Karnataka and academic partners Indian Institute of Science, and National Centre for Biological Sciences. Our work for research-based engagement works at the intersection of science, art, and society to engage young adults through Exhibitions, Public Engagement Programmes, Mentorship Initiative, and a pioneering Public Lab Complex.
Have more questions?
Please contact programmes@bengaluru.sciencegallery.com if you have any trouble uploading your submission.