Sometimes I come across a project that powerfully affects me. In Dark Light: A Journey Within is one.
Not only are the photographs stunning (I always love photography that makes me say “I wish I had done that.”) but the theme behind them is a powerful expression of the abyss of depression. That abyss I am also personally familiar with. From the photographer:
This series of self portraits examines my loss of identity and enduring personal journey through depression. It is a solitary path that encompasses loss of home and parent, the pursuit of beauty, work and perseverance under no religious or visceral compass. Imagined as a vast, shadowed plane it is a private purgatory mired in fog with colors muted and senses numbed. The varied landscape acts as metaphor for life’s many obstacles. Beyond the horizon lies hope for brighter days and so the lone soul carries on, albeit cast in dark light.
I find the most powerful art projects are ones that combine one of my ideals of representation (here a noir-ish palette and a heterodox use of focus) with a deeper psychological or philosophical theme. In Dark Light weaves this together to great effect. I can see that these are not just fine art photographs for the sake of fine art (which is an admirable undertaking in its own right), but they are fine art photographs that reflect the at-the-time-bleak emotional state of the photographer.
This is to me a sort of perfection; a perfection Clay Lipsky battled to create.
(Please recommend this post on Facebook. Also, please do the same with Clay’s Facebook page here.)