Each morning, I got up to photograph the Étang de Thau from the same viewpoint at the exact moment of sunrise. I used the longest exposure time possible, as allowed by my photographic equipment.
This work explores our relationship with the world on physical, metaphorical, and spiritual levels.
These landscape photographs are at once allegorical, representing an idea; natural, simply capturing a pond; and symbolic, acting as a mirror of myself, in the tradition of Romantic landscapes. Through this simple act of photographing the same view at the same moment each morning, I first pose this question: What is awakening? It is a concrete experience lived daily and called waking up (re-awakening, each day we wake anew), but also metaphorical, awakening as a spiritual experience (in the Buddhist sense). By observing the world’s awakening, I question my relationship to it.
This series could also bear the subtitle: "Clouds Pass, Water Flows." This Zen saying expresses the impermanence of being and the necessity of perpetual transformation. It also references the term “Unsui” (雲水), written with the kanji “cloud” (雲) and “water” (水), referring to a young monk on pilgrimage who has embarked on the Zen path.
It may be contradictory to try to capture perpetual transformation with this medium. It is through the series that I express the impermanence of things.
Visually, I see a blend of the paintings of J.M.W. Turner and the Seascapes of H. Sugimoto.
Visually, I see a blend of the paintings of J.M.W. Turner and the Seascapes of H. Sugimoto.
It is important to highlight a particular aspect of Zen spirituality. Unlike our Western view shaped by centuries of Christianity, Zen is not associated with mysticism. As I was taught and practice it, Zen is grounded in the real world. It addresses our relationship with ourselves, which, in turn, implies a relationship with the world.
