Islanders
photography, sound, installation
Every one of us have our own special islands, at least one. We often imagine island as a refuge, a isolated place of loneliness, far away from people. Yes, it certainly can be a place where to escape but it doesn’t end there and here starts our journey…
One of my special islands is nature where I fully let myself to observe. I come here whenever I feel overwhelmed and tired from every day’s worries. Once the journey starts, questions such as – Where am I? What is this place? Where are we going? – might pop into one’s mind, but it shouldn’t matter so much, not here. I admit, to pass the threshold to this island it takes one’s inner fight with difficulties, blurriness and busy mind but as the adjustment is made and mind-eyes are open to the new probabilities, it allows me to switch my mind to here-and-now. I hope this walk might be as much inspiring for you as it is for me – to find joy in exploring nature, observing, and looking deeper.
We all see things differently, and our perceptions are changing. What I mean is – we live in a time when even nature is perceived as a self-evident element in our surroundings. But then, curiosity, which awakens in me shortly after, brightens my senses and that way allows me to observe and see the surroundings from a completely different perspective, which I would like to share with you. For example, with every next step we may look on the nature and agree about its beauty, which possesses also artistic quality. Some people see a path as a path, a tree as a tree, a forest as a forest, but I see it all as harmonious unity of natural artwork made by artist’s hand. Sometimes it resembles even the finest jewelry. It is best revealed in each detail when you observe it closer by narrowing your way of seeing – from wide angle to close-up. Give importance to details because they tell something and they assign characteristics to the nature. As we move forward, nature has slowly changed – it is never the same and forest is the best example of that by showing it through colors and mood. Keep looking!
However, nature isn’t only about a beautiful place where to be and rest, there should be something more. As a society we have changed not only our perception of what surrounds us, but also how we choose what is worth looking. We are good at obtaining information about what is seen, but only rarely give attention and value to it. Having said that, I invite you not to look at something as just beautiful but also to give it a meaning, a voice - allow it to speak to you and ask yourself – How it makes me feel? What is so appealing in this detail? or What this tree means to me?
Therefore, this island of mine is not about a place, destination or outcome but about the process itself – the enjoyable process of looking and being present in the moment, process of giving a value to what we see and assigning meaning to it. In that way, I have learned to change my perspective on how I look not only in the nature but even at life. For example, it teaches me three things: importance of details, because they give a character and tell us more; through details we can change our perspective or angle how we look at things, and lastly, everything is fragile and in constant change, nothing is permanent. For some people it may sound sad, but for me it serves as a good reminder to live now and find the beauty in the present moment.
