Tokyo2Dubai Collab
Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 2:41PM
The concept here2here has taken another leap in meaning. I was recently asked on Instagram to participate in a collaboration project with someone from Tokyo, Japan.
When I joined Instagram just over one and a half years ago, @takiti or Tera as we all know him, was one of the first igers whose work I greatly admired. When after some time I asked him how he achieved a specific effect, he gladly shared the name of a favorite app he was using. Tera, who has an amazing gallery, kindly leaves comments on numerous photos and despite his huge following, always thanks those who leave a comment on any of his shots.
I believe that we connect to others on an energetic level in cyberspace and that energy is conveyed on a subtle level by online presence tied to our avatars, content produced or shared, quantity, quality and online conversation.
Needless to say, I was very excited when Tera asked if he could edit one of my pics. The process was set in motion by me sending him the four photos that he requested. He then chose one to edit. The resulting image was published in his gallery.
Tera has various shots of the Tokyo International Forum and I requested the original of one of these to edit. I chose it because it contained a lit up pathway in the Forum. The resulting edit is now part of my Corridors of Cyberspace series
In Japanese calligraphy there is a symbol called an ensō. It means circle and is often referred to as an “expression of the moment”. Many artists, as a form of spiritual practice, practice drawing an ensō daily. I have often wondered if it is possible to practice this in photographic form, and for some time now, have been incorporating the circle in my edits with this in mind. To be invited to collaborate with someone from Japan on an image appeared to me to be a form of answer to my question.
In my art, the circle, for me, represents not only the moment, but all form, and that which is without form. At the same time, it is an attempt to represent the experience of whirling in cyberspace; a space which is not localized but experiential.
The outcome of a piece I am working on is not known to me at the onset. As I attempt to express the experience of cyberspace, the very creation of a piece is itself an experience in cyberspace, as I work hand in hand with technology. Working with various apps which often produce surprising results, I go through countless resulting images until I find one that fully resonates with what I am attempting to express. The result is therefore a collaboration of a human and technology.
In this particular edit, you will notice within the circle, lines and sections meeting. This represents collaboration. There is also a darker space, symbolizing the unknown when the photo is handed over for editing. It is also the space in which creativity takes place and from it something beautiful appears to be emerging.
The speeding circles on the left remind me of all the data exchange going on in the collaboration. Living in Dubai, I was also reminded by them, of the Burj Khalifa standing proud and tall. Japan is one of the first countries daily to see the rising sun and this is depicted by the small moving circle on the right of the image. The shades of grey suggest timelessness in their neutrality.
It is my wish to exhibit the corridors of cyberspace series, perhaps at first in frames on paper, but ideally on special screens which allow the light to shine through them electronically from behind.
This month Emirates Airlines launched daily direct flights between Dubai and Tokyo. Both the UAE and Japan are considered to be global hubs of development and growth. It is my wish that the two have also been brought closer to each other on a more personal level in this photographic act of here2here online collaboration.
The image had one further message for me. As I contemplated it, I suddenly started recalling the music for “The Windmills of Your Mind”. As the circular melody went round and round in my head, I thought how appropriate it was for someone who attempts to practice watching her mind with all its thoughts. Often there are so many different thoughts going round and round like a windmill and it is only by becoming mindful and observing them that we are gradually able to loosen our attachment to them.
When I researched the song I discovered that it was the song which won the Oscar in 1969 for Best Song from a Film (in this case, the original Thomas Crown Affair). Dusty Springfield also recorded a version of the song in 1969.
Amidst its lyrics were these words which I immediately linked to my edit :
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind!
It was as I read this, that my photographic ensō became the expressed moment!
Thank you Tera-san for the invite and the collaboration.