TO PARADISE

This series is about our longing for Paradise. These edenic images are symbols for that state of mind, that feeling of being whole and connected, that we are striving for on our path of life, directed by our desires and aspirations. I illuminate that cliché, that archetype of tropical paradise and how it feels like to walk barefoot, to be immersed in lush abundance with all senses, the scent, the sound, the light and its beautiful reflections dancing on water, that seems to be present almost everywhere. Paradise is defined as a place of exceptional happiness and delight. For me, it can be both, a place and a condition. In this case, it is both at the same time. So this is my visual poetry ode to the subtropical islands in the pacific. Did you know that in this region the greatest diversity in languages is found? As a tribute, I picked my titles from this abundance. For example Kaimana is Hawaian and means “power of the ocean / diamond“. Also I contemplate that concept of Paradise as an alluring yet unreachable vision that can never happen. Rebecca Solnit writes: "Utopia is always on the horizon. So it is all about the path and the guiding function of this principle." The word Paradise derives from a kind of orange cove enclosure. Metaphorically the orange cove stands for that blissful state and the enclosure symbolizes the veils of perception that seperate us from the mystic world. So with this work I seek to explore this trandscendent blissful state beyond the veils.