WABI SABI
In Japanese culture, the concept of ‘wabi-sabi’ is to find beauty in the imperfect, the impermanent and the incomplete. The acceptance of transience and imperfection, of ageing and decay. This is particularly found in Nature, and we can always find beauty in its transience, in the cycle of life and death. The windows of the glasshouses at Kew are a wonderful place to observe this. Viewed from the outside, the leaves and foliage become pressed against the glass, and wither and die over time. The skeletons are left creating beautiful patterns – a small world of wabi-sabi.
This series includes a variety of techniques to capture the beauty of the transience and decay of the leaves on the windows. Some straight shots, some multiple exposure, some painterly effects in processing, but all celebrating the beauty of the foliage as it is caught in death. I have developed the colour palette across the series, to further suggest the sequential passage of time rather than a static moment. All in harmony, the warmer yellows and greens become a little cooler with the introduction of a suggestion of cyan and a hint of blue. And by the end, there is the mere suggestion of foliage in abstract markings left behind the glass.
This series includes a variety of techniques to capture the beauty of the transience and decay of the leaves on the windows. Some straight shots, some multiple exposure, some painterly effects in processing, but all celebrating the beauty of the foliage as it is caught in death. I have developed the colour palette across the series, to further suggest the sequential passage of time rather than a static moment. All in harmony, the warmer yellows and greens become a little cooler with the introduction of a suggestion of cyan and a hint of blue. And by the end, there is the mere suggestion of foliage in abstract markings left behind the glass.