Allegory:
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning
a symbol.
Although I have mostly been unaware that I am trying to tell a story, or stories through my photography, I have come to realise that this is indeed what most, if not all of us, are doing when we make pictures.
There is meaning in all our imagery and I think it is hidden to everyone including ourselves. I am convinced more and more that there is a narrative at play in my work, which for me, I have come to believe that I will spend the rest of my photographic life trying to unravel.
All photographers use imagery to express something. For most of us, the message we’re trying to express is at best, not fully understood, but typically, we’re not even aware that we are trying to express anything. To a large degree, I think there is mystery in my motivations for making photographs I make.
But I am aware that even the process of going out and spending a few hours alone in the landscape brings forth a conversation within. Staring at a sky, or watching a tree sway in the wind allows me to connect to the present moment and to think about the passage of time. I often find myself thinking about where I am, why I am here, and my place within the whole scheme of things.
In this way, I think all imagery I create is an allegory to some degree. The images show a conversation at play. All I know is that each of my images means something to me, and I am also aware that this meaning is personal. The work is either documentary (I was here at this time, and this is what I saw), or it is a symbol for something (I feel it, but can’t put into words what I feel).
Like a piece of music that can move us, the music has more meaning, and depth when it is our own composition. In that way, all our imagery is personal. And it often has meaning that even though we cannot explain it to others, means something to us in a way that it does not to anyone else.
This is perhaps the core reason for photography: what can’t be explained in words can sometimes be expressed as imagery.