Unification

When we retreat what is it that we do exactly? I think for many people it is different, a unique experience that is as individual as the person. A retreat could be anything from just closing your doors and turning off your phone, to traveling to a far away place and practising meditation, a healthy diet and having time for self-reflection. For me, this time in retreat is a time to become unified with the natural world around me, to feel breath and become uplifted, to feel that I can connect my own self conscious with that of the universe. Like a full glass, we perceive the space inside and outside the glass to be different, in a time of retreat is it possible to break the glass and the two spaces to become one?
Photography for me is also something that connects me to the world around me, opening my eyes to a new level of vision, a deeper vision so to speak, like a special awareness. It gives me the tools required to inquire into the nature of what is around me, what I belong to and also into ones own nature.
How wonderful a thing!

Mataian, Taiwan.

A Retreat.

Here in the midst of Taroko Gorge was our retreat, away from the coaches and the crowds that flock even in winter. This our little home for a few days, a place of privacy, safety, a refuge. A beat of a drum as the sun rises and then quiet, solitude and silence. We withdrew from society here, nourished ourselves in the peace and beauty of nature, thrived with the simplicity of our dwelling. The echoes of the Atayal people whirled around the gorge, their hunting tracks remain and maybe their ghosts with facial tattoos. Enjoying sitting and just being, with a cup of tea and nothing more, nothing less, just there. A home, a retreat.

Taroko Gorge, Taiwan.

Portrait of a Nation 2

Portrait of a Nation

An aquarium of gold fish
swimming for good luck
The family Dog dressed in tartan coat,
named Come Fortune.
Drinking tea for hours make the pot hot, pour with ancient ritual.
picking at sunflower seeds from an ornate wooden table.
Listening to the heavy sounds of a game of Mahjong
reach for the white flower oil to ease a stiffening back.
Steaming pots bubbling smoke rising past the tiles on the roof.
Smell the incense floating to the Gods
all the family under one roof
Grandmother and Grandfather shuffle to the sister-in-laws stove
rice pot full.
climbing stairs to a shrine
pay respects to family past.
This is Taiwan.

Wishing everyone a joyous and healthy new year full of dreams of beauty and wonder in a world we will cherish.
I wonder what the Tiger will bring?

Art for Grabs and cheery things

It's that time again for another round of Art for Grabs at the Annexe Gallery, KL, 12th and 13th of Dec. I will be there with some cute and cheery things for the festive season, also with a small show of prints from the series Kali Yuga which you can view on an older blog post from this year. Also the launch of Kali Yuga the book, a beautiful hand made dedication to the work.
Also up for grabs will be 'Japan' an unfolding book of photographic dreams of Japan, crossing borders box set and many more.
There are many events happening over the weekend including on Sat 12th, 12.30pm Amnesty International's Human Rights Day, with a marathon letter writing session, and Annexe Heroes.
Sun 13th Dec, Three little words @ 12.30pm by fallen leaves community theatre, and Fuzion Yoga for creativity by Feexa, @ 4.30pm bring your own yoga matt.
There are many many more events over both days please check the Annexe Gallery's website for full details; www.annexegallery.com

Hope to see you there!

Noo Productions

In an ever-changing photographic climate, when times are sometimes uncertain and we are thinking of survival or indeed being able to put the bread on the table, we have to evolve with the world around us and adapt.
Hence the arrival of a new label: ‘Noo Productions;’ all things photographic and arty farty!
Making photographic books has always been a passion of mine since at university, there is still something seductive about holding a hand made high quality book full of those wonderful things we call photographs, little snippets of our world and ourselves, moments frozen forever between pages we can flick through.
At present under the label Noo productions there are several books available, some old favourites and some new titles. Colloquial- a look at the city of Cairo, The Little Red Lantern- a first glimpse of coming home to Asia, Re-Tracing Steps- a return to Hong Kong, Walking in Shadows- the sky that was below me and Going back to the Start- a return to beginnings in Sulawesi. All books vary in price and design.
There will be more titles coming soon.
Also under the label there are a range of greeting cards, a Yogi colouring book with sketches your children can happily colour in, mini prints, gift tags and a ‘Paint your own T-shirt’ set for children, including the t-shirt, fabric paint and stencil.
Not forgetting ‘Crossing Borders’ a box set of 15 prints and map of the journey made, and also a set of 8 prints from the series ‘Souvenirs’ in their own made envelope.
All photographic books and print sets are limited edition and signed.
Details of each individual product will be posted soon.
Noo Productions coming to a place near you very soon, starting at Garden International School Christmas Bizarre on the 4th December 2009, from 9am until 2.30pm, Kuala Lumpur.

Endangered

After a trip to my lab on Monday I feel like I have become an endangered species. I went to drop off a roll of film asking for my usual process and contact, however discovered they no longer offer any contacting service only scans, and to add to this they wont be able to get any more film in until January!
My heart sank as I walked back out onto the rainy street, as I walked back through downtown KL, I felt cornered and confused.
I let the rain hit me, my umbrella limp in my hand as I looked up to a black sky.
This is the second lab now where this has happened and the last one has never been able to re-stock its fridges with film.
An ape has to search for its forest, and I am now too searching for survival in the digital world. A little bit lost and vulnerable, are there any rehabilitation centres that cater for photographers using film, that provide us with our beloved rolls of the stuff we put around spools?
Four rolls are sitting pretty in my fridge, should I wrap them in silk, tie ribbons around them and place them behind glass, or go out there and shoot with reckless abandon?

In hope…………………..

Film donations accepted!!!