Thicket shows two depictions of the same scene — one close and one that includes more of what would traditionally be considered the landscape. A path leads into the darkness of of an enclosed copse, where the landscape merges into darkness. It is difficult to attach a precise meaning to this. However, it seems to suggest something of an ominous passage and a dark future.
Making Photographs and Other Visuals
There is always debate about visuals that are most suited to various types of artistic creation. Should art depict nature or transcend it; should photography be the archangel of shining truth or the messenger of the devil. As technology advances the walls that form these boxes dissolve into meaninglessness. Lines among good, bad, and irrelevant become blurred, and sometimes the process seems rudderless. This might be liberating. It also might be destructive. It is hard to tell.
As someone who has spent years exploring image making, initially with paints, then in a darkroom, and later in a computer, the great issues of technological change have largely become background noise. Validation of an image no longer rests for me on its commercial potential, or the applause of peers, or the artistic acceptance of others. Its meaning lies deeper in the realm of creation. Sometimes that act of creation is a long and frustrating process and sometimes it is a fleeting spark of genius. When everything falls miraculously into place it can approach the divine.
At any rate, I hope you enjoy some of what you see here. Most of the work has been made in the last decade, although I have included a few older pieces here and there.
Paul Saturley, 2020
