Contemplated Adventures of Immobile Objects

This study draws on subseries from my long-term work, "Vibrant Night (Light Painting Landscapes)”: Since 2013 I've explored nature areas and nearby places at night, seeking images that reveal the uncommon potential of common scenes. Whether illusory or not, I often sense a spirit and vitality – a "vibrancy" – in all things. Using lights of different color temperatures and extensive post-processing, I stylize to imply these feelings. And to me, this transformation offers a visual metaphor to a psychological concept: Things can seem different if seen in a different light – the notion of “cognitive reframing.” Here I’ve chosen a subset of inanimate things which strongly imply willful movement or its desire. Thus it offers a strong visual metaphor for my vibrancy theme of everything seeming alive and striving in nature – an animistic view common to some Eastern religions and historic Native American beliefs. (And a bridge’s inclusion at the end adds to the concept.) To me, this visual metaphor also suggests that we should respect nature as if all things were alive and capable of influencing Earth's ecosystems (akin to the Gaia theory, which inspired me). Of note, the 1st image (“Apart, Venturing Forth”) differs from the other tree images by its primal symbolism rather than resembling abstract creatures via pareidolia (ie., an illusion like seeing shapes in clouds). It symbolizes relatable human emotions and adventures: I recall myself leaving my family for college. Similarly, others might relate giving up a comfortable career for a better but risky one; a migrant worker leaving loved ones behind for an uncertain journey; or a truth seeker leaving friendly supporters to explore controversial ideas. Many possibilities if one looks beyond surface reality (which my surreal coloration is meant to cue) to seek one’s self in what is seen.