At the Edge of Appearance

-

 

At the Edge of Appearance
Charcoal on Paper
70cm x 30cm

Sometimes an image makes me look twice.

And then again.

This is one of those images.

There isn't much to see at first.

One eye.

Part of a muzzle.

A few strong lines of the zebra's markings.

And yet there is no doubt what I am looking at.

The rest of the animal is almost absent from the frame, but somehow I don't need to see it. My mind fills in what is missing.

Perhaps that is what keeps drawing me back to this image.

The more I look, the more I see.

The lines become less like markings and more like a kind of visual landscape of their own. They lead my eye towards the eye of the animal, and suddenly I am aware of that gaze again.

It is unmistakable.

Even with so little of the animal revealed, there is a presence that feels complete.

I think this is one of the things that fascinates me about photography.

We often think that seeing more means understanding more.

But sometimes the opposite is true.

When something is only partly revealed, we begin to look more carefully. We become aware of what we cannot see. We start to imagine the rest.

A photograph can give us an entire animal.

Or it can give us a fragment.

And sometimes the fragment stays with us longer.

Perhaps because it asks something of us.

To look again.

To pause.

To notice the space around what has been shown.

This is also something I have come to understand through drawing.

I don't always need to describe everything.

There are moments when leaving something unseen allows the part that remains to become more powerful.

In this drawing, I wanted to stay with that edge — the place where the animal seems to appear and disappear at the same time.

One eye is enough.

One look is enough.

The rest can remain just beyond the frame.

At the edge of appearance.

Continue exploring

Collected Moments of Survival
Explore the drawings, stories and book behind the project.
Click here to Explore the project 

Original artwork
Original works from the series are available to reserve ahead of the December exhibition.
Click here to View available works 

Next story
What is Seen is Never Whole

Location: Namibia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NDUTU – THE REAL SERENGETI?

-
Image
The next leg of our tour was to prove to be so action packed that in order to do the experience   justice I am going to divide the story into more than one section so that you can share in what was one of the most awe-inspiring trips I have ever been on. The first will be about the Cheetah of the Serengeti. Just a stone’s throw from the Ngorongoro Crater lies a wilderness so vast that it literally hurtles one back to a bygone era. The fact that we were driving in a motorised vehicle was the only reality connecting us to the 21 st Century. The topography of the South Eastern section of the Serengeti is vaguely reminiscent of the Greater Karroo of South Africa sans the koppies and for kilometre after kilometre all that there is to see is scrubland and no trace of civilisation other than some dusty tracks that have been laid in the landscape. The road from the crater leaves much to be desired in first world terms but is a dream in the third world. Our progress is fast and furious ...
Read more

ETOSHA …PLACE OF GHOSTS

-
Image
It's 6.30am Namibian time, the the ominous dark gate blocks our path to getting where we need to go. I anxiously watch the Eastern horizon where the sun is starting to brighten the sky. To pass the time I apply sunblock to my face and lips willing the gatekeeper to appear. Then, just as the first golden orange sliver appears the gate miraculously slides open and after some flashing of papers we are finally on our way. First turn to the right and we hit the white chalky roads of Etosha. There are few animals to be seen and soon the bush breaks into open plains that are just perfect for a cheetah. But, of course there isn't a cheetah in sight.  First stop is Gemsbokvlakte, a barren waterhole, amidst the white chalk.  We stop in the designated parking area, there is hardly an animal in sight. We're new to this so we decide to wait. Soon enough a few springbok appear and a quick scuffle around the waterhole between two rams sets my shutter off. But, that is all ...
Read more

AFRICAN BIRDS - SAFARI BONUSES

-
Image
I am not a birding photographer. I know very little about the habits of birds. I cannot identity birds by their calls other than for one or two very distinctive calls. I know very little of their nesting habits and yet, when I review my photographs after a trip there they are, bird after bird shot. Friends with whom I have travelled will reveal that there is a particular bird that has me in constany rapture in more ways than one and when it comes to animal behaviour, I feel this particular species offers an enormous array of opportunities for some stunning photography. I refer, of course, to the vulture. A much maligned vacuum cleaner of the African plains the vulture offers any photographer more action than they could possibly imagine. From the time they circle in the thermals until they gracefully glide down onto a vulture feast which is followed by interaction second to none there is an enormous a variety of action images just waiting to be taken. On my trip to Hluhluwe-Imfo...
Read more