Looking In

Dark Art

6 Feb

Written By Quinn

The three images I want to look at in this post were in the same portfolio as the Kraken image I shared the other day. I felt they offered a calm respite from the internal shite threatening to throw me off-balance. The view through each window provides only tiny pieces of information and certainly not enough to draw any concrete conclusions.

Old bones and bandages have been recurring themes for me in the past, as have windows. More often than not, I notice pictures with a solitary figure sitting in a room with menacing weirdos looking in from the outside. I’m wondering if the attraction is related to a fundamental shift in perspective; am I trying to disengage from the personal and get back to being objective?

The first image, shown left, is quiet and offers a sense of contemplation, a moment of calm. Skulls replacing a human head could indicate old preconditioned thoughts, ones present before conscious memory. Bones are already with us at birth and represent the stuff that makes up our basic framework, act as support, and provide protection for vital organs. There’s an indication of a hidden meaning which says there has been a time of being mentally confined by old thoughts. The skull looks almost prehistoric, like it could belong to a dinosaur. Other visible objects include a butterfly and a snake; both are symbols of transformation. The snake with the regular shedding of its skin and the butterfly with its metamorphosis. These objects suggest that any changes occurring are entirely natural and part of a growth cycle. Despite the picture giving off the impression of stillness, it also suggests there will be a change in how something appears. I wonder if it’s the ‘body’ of something that will undergo the change. Although, the dinosaur skull head says that ways of thinking may remain the same. The symbolic message may well be a reminder that even when we have to deal with change, we still have old thoughts, or more likely, memories, that will stay the same. Whatever is going on, it doesn’t alter what is already known. If we feel restricted, we might need to remember that it could serve a valuable purpose.

I can’t determine if the woman in the second picture is floating or hanging. I’m inclined to see her as hung, but that’s probably the current state of my mind more than anything else. There’s also the possibility that she’s standing in a very relaxed manner. It’s the position of her hands and how she holds them which has me questioning what’s going on. The clothing style implies modesty, but her dress hangs off her left shoulder and exposes her breasts. Has she been forcefully exposed in some way? This aspect of the picture seems to stand in contrast to the rest of the image. The origami birds create a sense of lightness and emphasise delicacy. Paper cranes are said to symbolise good fortune and longevity, but they’re also said to carry souls to heaven on their wings. Like the first image, there’s a sense of quiet, but if anything, I get a stronger sense of isolation with this one, although I’m not entirely sure why.

The final image is probably the clearest because the face is partially visible. The woman in bandages tells me she is in a period of healing which could be nearly complete. If you feel drawn to pictures such as this, it’s possible you’ve been through the wringer and had a need to take some time out to recover. I’m a little intrigued with the skull which sits to one side: I wonder if it represents someone else’s ideas that were helpful to the recovery process. Was it a case of being able to use the perspective or thoughts of another during a time of vulnerability? Or, does it symbolise the ability to discard thoughts and ideas carried from an early age that are no longer conducive to moving forward in life? The bandages over her ears make me more inclined to think that external voices were muffled.

One thought that comes to mind is how each of these three pictures reflects reality; when we’re on the outside looking in, we don’t know anything other than what we see. What we see has to be kept in the context of how it’s framed, and it’s impossible to see beyond what is shown even if you know there’s more going on. But what about you? What kind of window pictures do you like? Are you looking out, or are you looking in? Is the glass clean, or is it broken? Do you find it easy to make assumptions about the things you can’t see? Do you lean towards the positive or negative in your analysis? Can you see any correlation between your interpretation and your current perspective?

Thanks again to the creative efforts of Lana Tustich. You can see her work in greater detail here.