Our world is full of meaning. From examining ourselves and introspection, to observing and participating outwardly, we all create an image of the world around us, while craving for a deeper understanding.
Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries experienced a cultural revolution with a new emphasis on reason, logic, ideological exploration, and individualism. Known today as the Enlightenment Era, it created a massive shift in both science and art, transforming the world and bringing it into light from the gloom of what was before. In our yearning for better understanding, we have always experimented with our senses, not only in cognition, but through our created aesthetics, hoping for a deeper understanding.
To be enlightened requires an understanding of the systems of the world as a whole. I believe science and art are tied together. Logic and spirit are intertwined. Beauty is in simplicity and complexity. The destiny that awaits us – do we choose it or is it preordained?
It is a mixture of both, I think. We live in the present, but also search for the greater future. This duality is the balance that many of us struggle to perfect and is represented in this series, perhaps, by the idea of doors, passageways, and portals. In many cultures around the world, doors hold special value. They call attention to possibility of spatial transition, thus have characteristics of both a path and a place. Maybe this opportunity for change is what draws us in…. to a sense of place, and true belonging.
Through this series, I wanted to explore the power of the “Aha!” moment and its potential ties to man-made physical location. Perhaps it is because of the light that they bring into what would otherwise be a darker place. Or perhaps they represent both a passive, yet definite arrival, of enlightenment or an opportunity to actively seek it. The question of which of the two cases is true remains unanswered, but half of the beauty is in the mystery!
