Waterline
"The things that we see are the things that are in us. There is no reality except for the reality we have within us. What makes the lives of most men so unreal is that they mistake the images outside them for reality and never let their own world speak."
- Hermann Hesse
"In a dark time the eye begins to see"
- Theodore Roethke
In this body of work I am attempting to use photography symbolically to allude to metaphysical experience. Thus, for instance, in keeping with universal symbolism, water is used as a symbol for the unconscious. The images of people near or in water therefore represent our dynamic and complex relationship with the unconscious, both personal and collective. As theses images are all found moments, I had the impression of "hunting synchronicities" in an attempt to give expression to spiritual experience through a symbolic visual language. Thus, for me, these images constitute a link between inner experience (both "subjective" and "objective") and outer experience (both "objective" and "subjective").
Technical Specifications
The original prints in this series are 40cm X 40cm (16 inch X 16 inch) silver gelatin lith prints; archivally washed and selenium toned. The prints were made from 6 X 6 cm black and white negatives. All prints are limited to an edition of 25.
About Sean Wilson
Sean Wilson was born in Cape Town and grew up in Johannesburg. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cape Town majoring in English Literature and Psychology. For most of 1994 he travelled through West and Central Africa. He returned to university in 1995 to do a development studies course and thereafter worked in the NGO field for three years. In 1997 he rediscovered his passion for photography and has been committed to the medium ever since.
Sean currently lives in Cape Town where he works as a freelance photographer.