“After hearing my footsteps, walking in to where the path is no longer visible, I exhale. I begin to sense the trees dancing in the rustle of the leaves, the silhouettes of glowing light and the darkness breathing. The trees begin calling me, in different ways and in manners that bypass my logical brain. Welcomed to come and visit with them, I bring my large format camera. I contort optics and make long exposure, allowing for more to imprint than what the eye could see…possibly our intimate encounter, possibly what was spoken.
“When we refer to spirits we usually are referring to those who have come before us, and occasionally those who will be birthed by us, but generally we speak of entities with the assumed shared human experience. The forest world has been densely growing and cycling for longer than we have been walking this earth. These spirits, these ancient beings, have wisdoms and perspectives rooted from the time of the core of the earth. And they see through me, they see through us.
"To walk alone into the forest is the first step to being able to hear the speaking. It is not immediate, but per individual. The next step is to hear your presence in the forest, the breaking of sticks beneath your feet. Then you hear and feel your breath in this airspace, that it is different than that outside of the woods. It will be silent at first, still, while you acclimate. And then as your mind is relaxed, your face will relax deeply and, as if your eyes open wider, you will see how very much alive the beings that surround you are.
“When we refer to spirits we usually are referring to those who have come before us, and occasionally those who will be birthed by us, but generally we speak of entities with the assumed shared human experience. The forest world has been densely growing and cycling for longer than we have been walking this earth. These spirits, these ancient beings, have wisdoms and perspectives rooted from the time of the core of the earth. And they see through me, they see through us.
"To walk alone into the forest is the first step to being able to hear the speaking. It is not immediate, but per individual. The next step is to hear your presence in the forest, the breaking of sticks beneath your feet. Then you hear and feel your breath in this airspace, that it is different than that outside of the woods. It will be silent at first, still, while you acclimate. And then as your mind is relaxed, your face will relax deeply and, as if your eyes open wider, you will see how very much alive the beings that surround you are.
SPOKEN is a body of portraits; recordings of wisdom shared.
On display at CAMIBAart, Austin, TX until January 7th. Closing will be 1-4 January 7th.
Video by Justin Humphrey
