With And Alone

I Am An Island, Full With Life

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The image of a person surrounded by the movement and colours of uncertain landscape, began as a study of someone floating beneath the surface of the sea. Here a person is both on their own, yet enveloped with the microscopic forms of life contained in every drop. Their head falls back, their eyes close, their toes point, their legs fold up towards their torso, not in pain, but in the midst of a powerful experience. Their right hand settles upon the shifting sands that give way. This image of a person alone, shows their experience of being, with.

Although at first the image may seem to represent a woman, it may equally be of a young man. I think of the person rather than their gender. I think of their spirit and of those qualities that are not bound by culture, place, or circumstance.

Enchanted, the viewer gazes at a person absorbed by another's private moment of being. A moment they are lost within their world. Without the presence of another they may seem alone, and yet, with their inner landscape, with our gaze, they are with.

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Part poetry, journal, biography, confessional, political and aesthtic manifesto, I ponder on a new thought every day. With And Alone accompanies the publication of the same name that considers art and beauty, love, loss, mystery, and music. Two entries follow...

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Art is a way I uncover. As I write, some of what I want to say seems clear, and some of what I place upon the page only becomes clear over time. As any artist I expose myself for attention, not just myself, but the subject of my work which may be its beauty or meaning.

I value many things unseen: my dreams, my hope, my love. And yet I also need those things I hear, I see, I touch. To flourish, friendship is the shared breath of all these things.

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I am one thing in mind, and another in body.
I long to talk but pass by.
I show myself as self-assured when I am far from confident.
I smile when sad.
I wait, constrained, when all I wish is freedom.

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The first half of 'With And Alone' presents one thought for each day of a three year cycle in reverse order. The second, a thematic presentation of the same thoughts with additional content that allows the reader to locate and consider related ideas.

Last Updated: 16 October 2024

 

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An extract from the full size artwork follows.