“The Dance with Infinity”
The Photography
Since childhood, I have been totally mesmerised by nature, earth and the heavens. I have also been obsessed with photographing flowers and the world of macro photography since I got my first camera. I love exploring the abstract and potentially hidden elements of nature, particularly within water, clouds, leaves and trees. I am inspired how the vibration of nature speaks and reveals its beauty through the expression of light, shadow, movement, rhythm, texture and colours. In addition, I’ve always had a deep yearning to know my true self.
Eventually, the spiritual seeking and the creative path merged. Photography became a doorway through which to dance with nature and creation, to surrender to communion with the elements and the universe, to taste oneness of life, to discover the sacred within myself and the world around me.
I don’t label myself as a photographer – more a ‘collaborator’ with nature, or the medium through which life is expressing itself, is perhaps a better fit.
What Happens to produce an Image?
I never decide today is a day for taking photos. I get a sense from deep within to pick up my camera and leave the house immediately. I never know where I am going, I am ‘guided’ and simply know when I’ve arrived. Photography is deeply woven into my spiritual path. I see the elements and world of flora as living beings, so the images are formed through conscious relationship with the life force of the natural world and cosmos. Whatever I am photographing, I feel a profound connection with my fellow living beings, whether these are plants, trees, clouds, rocks or the moon.
And here begins the conscious ‘Dance with Infinity’.
The ‘eternal now’ holds all that has ever been and all that is yet to come. Yet all nature’s beings (including myself), the elements, the light, the position of the sun and other celestial bodies, are present, in a unique, single, never-to-be-repeated, choreographed moment in infinity … captured at the click of the shutter. It is these images that you see in the original photographs and the reflections. It is from these original images that the Mandalas are birthed.
“Living Light Mandalas”
The word mandala can be translated as ‘circle’, ‘sacred circle’ or ‘container of essence’. Throughout history, they have been used as an aid to meditation and spiritual practice. In some cultures, the mandala represents the entire cosmos and a gateway to the sacred space within. It represents the spiritual journey from the external world to inner truth and awakening expanded states of consciousness.
The Living Light Mandalas are a way of honouring and celebrating the sacredness I see in the natural world. They are a collaboration with nature and the Infinite Mystery, emerging from connections across realms and kingdoms, between flora, fauna, light, elements, cosmos… They originate out of a convergence of all these components at a tiny pinprick in time, captured by the press of a shutter button. Yet what emerges from the original image represents the infinite potential and expressions that may ripple out of that single moment. It becomes like a homeopathic remedy. Somewhere in each mandala is the essence of all that contributed to create the original image. Each image transmits a vibration of the original essence whilst simultaneously emitting its own new unique frequency. Many of the Living Light Mandalas come with poetry or blessings for contemplation, reflection or inspiration.