Ode to Pluto is a visual documentation of a two-year-long project in which I worked initially from my subconscious mind, capturing images spontaneously and reactively and commencing a journey into painting initiated by an unexpected urge to rescue my (long-passed) grandfathers oil paints from their dusty box in the attic.
The project is evolving – from an entirely introspective exercise into exploring themes of where we can find feelings of comfort, safety and cohesion in the natural world (an antidote to consumerism) particularly with respect to mental health and well being. The end results fluctuate between the discordant and the serene, in acknowledgement of the difficulties the human race faces in light of our increasingly fractured relationships; both with each other, and our host planet.
Many of the photographs are captured on land we refer to as ‘The Island’ a hillside forestry plantation sitting between two rivers close to our house. For over ten years I’ve walked, run and cycled along its tracks and trails, sometimes with others but more frequently just me and my sidekick, Zedboy. My relationship with this terrain is intimate and rewarding, as I cross the suspension bridge over the often-black – yet sometimes bright green with the reflection of verdant spring leaf growth – water, my mind slips softly into a more meditative state. More often than not, I don’t take a full-frame camera on these wanderings, preferring to use both my mind and my iphone for scrapbooking ideas. On the occasions I was photographing I worked instinctively, following my senses and stopping where my eyes settled, often on seemingly mundane features that nevertheless wordlessly spoke to me. A single stone illuminated by a small shaft of light, a forwarder track leading into an unknown dark, the distant brightness visible through trees, and star-like reflections sparkling in a boggy ditch. Other images are taken from marginally further afield, at another of my regular haunts in the woods to the west of Loch Ken. A swirl of foam on black water reminiscent of the moon – which later surfaces in the series in a more realistic form in images taken from our house – and a tangle of surface tensions circling a black void.
I closed the series of still images with something more colourful, this time featuring a human, illuminated by the rays of light amongst trees, a sign of hope and a step back from the deep introspection of the project.
The accompanying AV piece is an even deeper personal expression, elaborating on the still images with video clips from my walks, along with films taken exploring my enduring obsession with moving water, surface tension and reflected light. I’m easily mesmerised, entering an almost hypnotic state when these small interactions catch my eye, which sometimes feels like an almost physical seduction. This clip is an invitation to others to indulge in this connection.
(The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot a couple of segments here from further afield, which I felt compelled to include.)
Images from the series are shown below (click to view image at full size / original format).
ABOUT MORAG PATERSON
A sense of belonging underpins Morag’s photographic work, which varies from the wildly abstract to more literal representations of the natural world. For Morag, the art of photography is process-based, using the camera as a tool to express her engagement with any given location or subject. Deep immersion is important and she often spends many hours and days on just a few meters of stream or coast, delving into possibilities, experimenting, observing the ever-shifting interplay of light with matter. Pondering our rapidly changing, disharmonious presence as a race, our separation from our origins finds it’s expression in her work, asking questions and seeking response.
Website: leemingpaterson.com
Instagram: @mog_pat
Instagram: @leemingpaterson
Twitter: @leemingpaterson
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Morag Paterson
