Nature … She creates eternally new forms
What is there has never been
What has been does not recur
Everything is new and yet always the same

-Goethe-

Nature performs her dance. This dance resonates deeply within each of us, connecting our biological cycles and rhythms to those of nature. As the cycle of each day inches up, as we glance to the bigger world ever changing, we connect to something much larger than ourselves. Each day is different, whether we take the time to see this difference or not. We ignore subtle changes as we get busy with our life, work and family. If we do not see this infinite variety, seemingly, nature never changes. However, if we take the time to look closer, on a deeper level, we see nature’s changes moment-to-moment and day-to-day.

Light and shadow are one “pattern which connects” us to nature. Light and shadow play a role in memory because they connect us to places and to cycles of time. We all have memories of scenes we have experienced. We recall places because our mind makes momentary associations based on how that place smells, how it sounds, how it feels, how it tastes and what we see. Vivid images flood back through these sounds, smells, taste and variations of light and shadow from our past. Patterns through which we make a connection to that place include the way the light flickers on the water and how the shadow heaves in addition to how still the air is, or perhaps how the breeze blows.
Further, light and shadow are necessary to our development as human beings. According to psychoanalyst Carl Jung, we all have a “shadow” side, a side hidden from view, as well as our “sunny” side. Light is viewed as uplifting, positive, open, predictable, civilized, balanced, sane, providing reason, and all that is good and logical in life. Shadow, on the other hand, represents that which is unconscious, hidden, dark, confused, rebellious, uncivilized, bad, elusive and as something one may prefer to ignore. It’s an inner voice that questions our capabilities, worth, and decisions, often holding us back from reaching our full potential. These opposites provide lessons, both good and bad and they lead us along the way.
As we peel away layers of understanding, we reach a deeper meaning for light and shadow and a possible connection to our soul.

– Essentially it is in the shadows that our potential awaits, along with what we dare not see –
“An ocean in between the waves” presents a series of photographic works shot on 35 mm film printed on bamboo paper and abstract liquid light paintings printed on cotton painting canvas conceived with different negatives composed into a collage and directly exposed on an enlarger.
They can be viewed as an expression of the dance of nature as well as the metaphorical paradox of light and shadow.