Look into the spaces

A moodle into liminal spaces

Our eyes are used to seeing, defining and naming shapes and outlines of objects, especially those familiar objects in our homeplaces - the couch, the bookcase, the chair, the bed ...

For many years, I've found untold joy in shifting focus to the spaces on, in and around everyday objects. The key to this approach is to look into the negative space beyond the subject of the photograph to see if there is anything of interest there. And do you know what? There normally is!

My occasional but long-term "Look into the Spaces" series on Instagram, is always about this juxtaposition of light and shadow. I’ve also made one or two photo books of these in the past.

Any kind of camera is a useful tool for this as it allows us to frame and focus on the rapidly changing liminal (transitory and barely perceptible) spaces, and to cut out the bits that would normally help us to recognise an object. Immediately, the image in the frame becomes abstract and maybe even intriguing or compelling. It may even encourage us to make up a story.

The card art

Part of paying attention to my life is looking at things around me with metaphorically different eyes - looking up (at the clouds in the sky), looking down (at my feet and the shadows), and looking at the small things that make up the big picture.

I added the words "Look into the spaces" to this little card to remind me to keep doing this. With the way we operate in the world these days, it's so easy to forget the things that bring us small moments of joy, those things that help us to engage with the world in a curious way. When I randomly numbered the cards, this one subliminally became number one! I’ve embedded the story about this at the bottom of this post.

The card uses a monochrome palette of tear-shaped collage fodder bits. As is often the case, there are various little bits of writing on the back, but these words by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki apply to both life and photography:

Find beauty “not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates"

Next time, I'll share some of the images I've taken with this approach. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in looking into the spaces - in yourself or in the world around you.

From the Delight Diaries archive

You might also enjoy this post from my Delight Diaries archive:

23.05.2020 Where light and shadow play

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