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Zaar Riisberg // Streets of Aalborg
Martin J. Sabine // State of the World Visual Address #5 // Fists of Fury
A few months ago I asked a bunch of people to produce or give me an example of how they saw this world right at this moment. Some replied, and the next few weeks, their offerings will be posted in an ongoing series.
The 5th one is by Martin J. Sabine. If you like this, do engage and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.
This is clearly symbol minded, but this time for all the right reasons. One of the best weapons against an adversary, perceived or real, is to bastardise or outright steal their symbols and twist their values. It sows division. But there is a graphic quality at play here that I really like, best described as timeless. Timeless is better than trend and much harder to achieve.
/Z
Ron Rubenstein // State of the World Visual Address #4
A few months ago I asked a bunch of people to produce or give me an example of how they saw this world right at this moment. Some replied, and the next few weeks, their offerings will be posted in an ongoing series.
The 4th one is by Ron Rubenstein. If you like this, do engage and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you. RR is a bit of an enigmatic character who takes the shots none of us do. He hails from the US and has a tv personality president. Not sure where you go to catch RR these days - last I saw, he was on IG. But I cannot confirm that as I deleted my account. It seems to be that people who lend their artworks to AB, do not post a lot of other places. If you want to see something really lush by RR go here (these are some of my favorite photographies in existence).
Martin J. Sabine // Negative Space Paradigm
The negative space that surrounds objects and places, devoid as it is, of all encompassing light still draws our attention. The intrusive spark of brightness within the darkness of an image highlighting the contrast between the two. You come to the photograph or image as an aesthetic object with no context... Then you step in and read the text and then out again to revisit the image in a completely different way. I'm interested in that space between text and image. The piece becomes the negative space between the two. Therefore conceptually the two sets of negative space the one within the image the other between the text and image come together as a kind of symbiotic paradox.
The Importance of this analysis is presumptive, in so much that it requires a level of understanding from potential viewers of the image, to make a distinction between the title (the text) and the photograph (the image) a photograph without proper caption is worthless particularly in journalism. On the other hand, you can cause damage with an incorrect title: For instance you can diminish the impact of an image by using overly cute titles, or take away the imagination of the viewer by describing too much or leading in a direction that the image is not quite supporting. Sometimes this might be an enhancement, where the author of the image wants to influence the audience in any given direction, and other times it can end up being a distraction.
In essence do titles contribute to the meaning that is seen in an image? According to purist doctrine, words beyond the image/frame are not supposed to influence the understanding or appreciation of visual form, ergo it argues that titles should function simply as identification tags not sources of meaning for the viewer. The contrary position of most discerning contemporary advocates of the free aesthetic articulate views at variance to the purist credo, moreover they have moved away from the elitist doctrine on how art should be viewed to a more open liberal approach that focuses on conceptualizing the function of titles, as an example they are concerned with titles not as mere tags, but descriptions that have a unique purpose that determine to a degree the interpretation of the aesthetic of an image.
What a work of art is titled…..has a significant effect on the aesthetic it presents and the qualities we perceive in it. Titles emphasise relevant contextual factors in the viewing of artworks and different titles engage the viewer in many ways. Some titles for instance provide explicit directives for interpretation which can add to the experience or conversely in other cases detract. In some examples the title can be a simple and straightforward description that adds little to the meaning of the work so becomes neutral in the equation.
In conclusion does the difference in the title affect what people interpret from an image or in part what they attend to, or do different people respond and react differently? That question is open-ended as we all know that art is very subjective and we take what we want from any presentation of art. I think we can all agree, that as long as we enjoy the engagement whether positive or negative, is all that matters and that so long as we take away an overall appreciation of the experience then this is a benefit to both the viewer and the artist….
© M.J. Sabine 2020
The Newslarder #4
Edited mobile shot / random tunnel is Aarhus
First two contributions in State of the World Visual Address are out. Apparently, that has inspired others to jump in, so we might have an ongoing thing on our hands. That sounded almost dirty, if not oddly romantic too. There’s a possiblity that we might look into charity. Both me and MJS have a soft spot for youths in dire straits, so, why not?
We are still interested in contributors in general, but we are just not the kind of people to chase after you, beg you or kiss your ass. The idea of a collective and a synergy where we use each others circles to get further out without doing much SOME, is still a sound one. Too much art languishes in the dark because there is too little trust artists between. I am talking about artistry here - other photographers are still ‘a problem’, and unless you are a teacher leading students, I do not understand photo walks. But that is NOT to say artists cannot band together. They should - and we should be honest with each other. Way too many fence sitters concerned with ‘keeping up appearances’ ruin our chances of having a real, fruitful discourse. Just be fucking real instead of always trying to position yourself, or be something you are not.
That is my main grievance with people. Fly your flag, claim your divinity, but back it up with skills. Nobody wants to hear who your friends are, or that you had coffee with the 3rd cousin of Banksy in a London pub only three people know of. Seriously, cancel poser culture. And be interesting - not coy, not reserved, not arrogant etc. - interesting, suspenseful, confrontational, passionate, alive, awake, in love - be those things.
We will try and monetise this a bit, maybe for charity as well as the daily run of it. But there is still a lot of work to be done. I wish you all a nice weekend.
Remember to check the contributions for ‘State…’
Henrik B. Clausen // Benched // State of the World VIsual Address #2
A few months ago I asked a bunch of people to produce or give me an example of how they saw this world right at this moment. Some replied, and the next few weeks, their offerings will be posted in an ongoing series.
The second one is a shot by Henrik B. Clausen. If you like this, do engage and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you. HBC is a film director and videographer from Denmark.
For more on HBC check his Vimeo
Check out #1 here
Christoffer Fabæk Kjær // The Speaker // State of the World Visual Address #1
A few months ago I asked a bunch of people to produce or give me an example of how they saw this world right at this moment. Some replied, and the next few weeks, their offerings will be posted in an ongoing series.
The first one is a drawing by Christoffer Fabæk Kjær. If you like this, do engage and leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.
For more on CFK check his IG.
The Newslarder #3
The state of the world project starts tomorrow (Friday). They will be stand alone posts for the most. There are tons of other articles that need to go up, but we have one editor here, and I have been lackluster, battling a few things, as I have touched on before. That is nearing an end - which is good, because I am tired of being hampered by unimportant shit.
What’s important in this day and age, I hear you say? Well, art, satire, humour, critique - now more than ever. When was the need for creativity and critique ever bigger?. We need to teach people to question things again. In schools, we should be teaching kids to question things, not be obedient fucking parrots with a credit card.
Just Art has been updated - go take a look, if you don’t believe me. We are also contemplating more on mobile/smartphone photography, but the ‘mobile’ section is not coming back - just like the project starting tomorrow, we want to have a dialog with people, so more avenues for interaction are planned, and no, it will not involve SOME, because fuck SOME.
In the words of Captain Black Adder: wobble, wobble.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) feat. Martin J. Sabine // The Silence of the Trolls
Huh? /MJ Sabine
With all the predictions about how Donald Trump will fare in November, it is surprising that no one focuses on the silence of the 2016 trolls. I used to go to Twitter and debate with Trumpettes, just to be in a hostile environment - you know, training? But these days it is downright hard finding someone to attack you. In ‘16 and ‘17 they would swarm you on fake accounts as soon as you said anything about Trump. Likewise, Yahoo! is flooded with what is usually referred to as ‘libtards’, having fun at Donnie’s expence.
Forget polls or anything else you see in the media, this is the clearest sign that if there is a silent minority or majority out there, it is not only silent, it is hiding. If Trumpers are anything, it is in your face - Roger Stone taught Trump that, and he passed it on to his followers. Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counter offensive. Or the short version: attack, attack, attack. I realise that Stone is the architect in this, but he is a mere opportunist navigating in a modernity gone awry. This has been on the cards since Ronald Reagan, mind you. Perhaps one of the worst presidents in modern times, yet he is a hero to many Americans, which should tell you all you need to know about how the American mind operates.
At least Stone is smart - and believe or not, he is also quite cultivated and a libertine feminist. How you can enable misogynism as a declared feminist, remains unexplained, though. Had Trump not commuted his sentence, Stone would have exacted a horrible revenge at some point. Stone was around before Trump, he will be around after. But as the designing architect, Stone is more guilty than anyone.
Where’d everybody go? /MJ Sabine
Now, as recently as yesterday, there are lots of reports still suggesting that the silent majority/minority is large, and we are lead to believe that a huge amount of people will not admit to voting for Trump, because of the stigma that carries. One argument is that Hillary was even further ahead than Joe Biden is, so this will not be a problem. This is not true, in all of 2016 there was not one poll that put Hillary 12-13 points ahead. She was never close to pulling even with Trump in states like Texas and Georgia. Uncle Joe is. Today, reporting is suggesting that Biden might take a state that no republican president has been able to do without for 95 years. I mean, this is starting to look like at Jimmy Carter’esque flogging. And Biden? He is just sitting on his ass.
Nobody likes Trump, not even himself. That is the curse of the narcissist. Meanwhile, Donald is a odd narcissist, as he over compensates, but he also under performs. Anyone with a brain in their head - even alt-righters - know that if USA re-elect Trump it is over. This world must burn. The reason? There isn’t one.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // Other People’s Cunts
Mural in Horsens of a young girl reading by light in a fantasy setting. Some artistic soul felt that it lacked something.
There’s a certain kind of photographer that seems to have aesthestic urge to shoot what other people have created. I’ve often run into the sentiment, that only those that cannot create copy or steal. Real artists steal I am told. I disagree, real artists inspire. Not only others, but themselves as well.
At the risk of being a smidge philosophical, we all shoot or depict stuff that is something in and of itself. The interesting thing is what you do with it. What is motif or portrait, if you don’t work with it? Natural? Not necessarily. The artist sees the potential in the amalgamation. She knows there’s not even light, but only energy. She knows how to convey and invoke. She doesn’t leave them much, which is the greatest gift an artist can leave behind. In the end the ‘physical manifestation’ matters little. A real artist gets in your head.
Art is a drug, just like every other sensory input is, and reality is a chemistry soup ripe with photon flies. Whether you are art directing a videogame, shooting photography, writing a screenplay or indeed shooting a movie. When it comes to conveying it all, it is hardly ‘your story’ or told by you - it’s always a work in progress, building on previous work. The greatest story ever told, as far as we know, is not the Bible, nor is it Star Wars. It is the story of humanity.
Everything is a collaboration - one thought gives sustenance to another spark of insight with no fear of failing. Or, indeed, inspiration fails, we start looking inward and dissolve as a race and a factor in reality. Your choice, really.
Not, it’s not minimalism…
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // Moonimalism & The Reality of the Internet.
I am currently mooning you with my moonimalism. It's a prop to me, just like to the flat earthers. It is not real you know? The internet is, and everything on it, is for real. You can totally construct a reality online that will hold up- nah, you'll end up writing suicide notes to fickle followers and voyeurs that'll just move on should you and the pill bottle succeed in your anguished cry for help. Don't let them have the satisfaction. Don't bare yourself to the bottom feeders, let them wallow and rot in their own festering mentality. Also, have a nice week.
What? You want more? Yeah - so do I, what do you suppose we do about that?
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // The Vestiges of the Veteran Fighter
As a ray of light starts to shine on my life again, my brother walks in darkness
Surrounded by both love and uncertainty he once again dons the vestiges of the veteran fighter
Round one, round two, round three - on the ropes - but still last man standing
A smile, a shoulder and an iron will through internal hell
Depended upon, loved and revered
A father, a friend for life
Stronger than all
Unique.
Lasse Fischer // Big Deep Breath
We should talk about something.
In the aftermath of the European and Danish elections many might feel disillusioned, exhausted, and some even bitter. Let us take a collective breath and giant exhale as the dust settles. What did we learn? Well, for one we got to experience precisely how intense it is to live in a time where the cries for our attention are shriller than ever, at least according to my memory. The need for attention whether it be products or politics has always existed, but the commercialization of our attention is something rather new. Our electronic devices have made it laughably easy for anyone to gain access to us, and as such, our spaces of refuge from the hustle and bustle of everything around us have shrunk - and are still shrinking with remarkable speed.
Pling
Did you reach for your phone? Of course not, this is a text and there was no actual sound, but you get the picture.
Big Deep Breath
We have happily embraced this development with relatively little criticism, and even when we criticize we mostly do not act on our arguments against the invasion of our privacy and mental resting places. And we have become complaisant with this reality because we get used to how things are very quickly, especially if it involves more convenience and comfort for us. And so the great trade-off of our time is that of our private refuge for an endless catering to our needs. It is someone’s best interest for you to pay attention, but it will not always be in yours, no matter how flashy the screen might get. And so we get to the crux of this post.
It is easy to get riled up, and one should get their blood pumping from time to time over important issues, but with the way we live there is always a cause to bleed for. Being a big consumer of political commentary and news on Youtube I know how anger, sadness, frustration and utter disbelief can be summoned within minutes of the first press on a screen. It is crucial to get some distance once in a while. I recall overhearing a 16-year old punk kid discussing climate change the other day crying out ‘it is all too late, were going to die’, his green mohawk wiggled with fear and frustration as he talked. And while being at a barbeque at my parents place my brother in law decreed the then upcoming election to be ‘the most important in history’. I silently made a salad in the kitchen while he vigorously discussed this with my sister in the living room.
Big Deep Breath
I am not one to beat real and heartfelt issues to death with a big ‘all things are relative’ stick because there are genuinely causes for concern that should be taken serious, but such concerns require a measure of rest as well. When dealing with an unending stream of information it might be difficult to figure out when to take a break, but let me tell you, anytime is fine. Living in a constant stream of reasons for emotional upheaval isn’t healthy for anyone. Do it now, take a walk, drink a cup of coffee with a friend, paint something, put the phone away – take care of yourself. While you do that let us reaffirm a couple of truths and contemplate some well-meant pointers:
Consuming media without the time to reflect on the information given is merely consumption.
Some things are out of your control.
Seeing results take time.
Be ready to admit when you are wrong.
Getting upset is a valid response, but not always productive.
Striving for a positive mindset and perspective will greatly increase your quality of life.
Pay attention to your own, your family’s, and your friend’s well-being.
Take care of yourself, take a breather.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // I am Special pt 1: Bland on the Run
I did some shots for a band my friend was playing in. Little did I know, that my friend was being fucked over by these twats. My friend is the most gifted guitarist I have ever met - a truly brilliant maverick musician. The band was doing old punk songs - in my opinion, something vastly below the skillset of my friend, but not the rest of the guys in the band - whom I really liked. Turned out they were doucebags. Small men as it were. I have met my share of them, trying to stab me in the back, sully my name in front of others, or just ganging up on you in a really vile manner. Why do the rest of us have to contend with other people’s insecurities?
Most shots were painstakingly done, initially run through Lightroom, Camera Raw, Photoshop and carefully finished with just the right offset - EACH AND EVERY SHOT. On top of this, I payed my own way at a one of their concerts and gave them the shots. Top dollar work, and the best pictures the band had - and they are still using them. It is good work, even though, it was pro bono or payed very little. Why? Because I work passionately for people I like and very professionally for people that pay. I value my personal integrity - after all, I have to live with myself.
So once again, people of mediocre talent are allowed to stifle those of real talent. This is a problem for this world - the envy of the truly bland. ‘I am special’ the individual seems to cry out. It always leaves me with a ‘prove it’ echoing through my brain. Instead, most will scale the body of others, until they reach the shoulders and then stand on them.
It is the same behaviour that made me hide, curtail my output or indeed control it a lot more. I have hated being an inspiration for others, and I have felt exasperated at times, when people more or less said ‘so inspirational, keep it coming’. Fuck you. I would rather not have an output than inspire people that never go out of the box themselves. The excitement for me is creation, exceeding boundaries - I want to look behind the veil, I want to be on the path to the palace of wisdom.
I do not know what path everyday farts like the ones that fucked over my friend are on. All I know is, that when the people of talent have had enough, everyone else is left up shit creek without a paddle but a ton of followers, either payed for or collected under false pretences. I am not even talking about ‘influencers’ - we all know they are a bunch of cock suckers - no, I am talking about people and artists of talent that chose to find a template for success, rather than being true to themselves and let the subconscious grab their aim and steer them in.
With this, I open the floor to others - past and present contributors or indeed readers - to enter this theme ‘I am Special’ - would you like to write part II or III? I have more instalments myself, but I do so love the yumminess of concerted and collaborated efforts.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // The Plastic Flower
Plastic flowers. What's left unsaid lingers. Untold memories of restraint and ambiguity with a dash of stupidity. The usual suspect everyone knows is never guilty. The character you toss aside. The man you all like, but do not understand. The divider, yet the leader you congregate around. The loser you bar from accepting his defeat. The lover of light and the bringer of darkness, the voice of the silent, the anger of the vocal - the calm AND the storm. It is time to rise again.
(text first published on FB)
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // I Hate Being an Empath
I have just shot a confirmation after spending an evening and morning with some adorable kids. I jump on a bus, and after a few stops a group of young people enter. A smell of beer and old cigarettes accompany them, and one guy in particular catches my attention. He sits across from me. He is jittery and not a day past 25 years of age. An infinite sadness starts to build inside me mixed with the sense that I have seen this kid before. They are all in somewhat good spirits, but my eyes still get wet. I see him whip out a small bottle of ‘Hot n’ Sweet’ (sweet, cheap liquor), and he knocks it back one time. I want to scream. I want to cry - I want to take everything he is fighting and put it on me. I am 43 - so fuck me. This kid, and I just know this, will not see 40 - maybe not even 30. My mind screams at him in silence: ‘who abandoned you’? ‘What asshole father left you to drift by yourself’?
They reach their stop, which, of course, is Mølleparken. Lots of people in Aarhus go there, however, you can be sure the drunks and addicts are out as well in the park - every damn day during the summer. As they leave I see his bag is full of ‘Hus Forbi’ - a paper produced by the homeless in Denmark. That is how I know him - he camps out selling them at the place where I used to shop on Vesterbro Torv. I get another flash of his face, and it hits me. I saw him getting harassed by a ‘normal’ woman in the inner city one time. It was classic - she told him to get a job, and he was trying to tell her that it was not that easy, that there were no jobs, and certainly not any for him. He had been begging which pisses people of. And now I know why I remember him so vividly. That day, I walked right up to him, past the woman and pressed a 100kr bill in his hand - he looked at me in total disbelief, I turned, flipped off the woman, gave her a sarcastic smile, and went on my merry way.
But it stings that it has to be this way. It tears at my being and it violates what we are about. We have no dignity if we let our own suffer. How can we fight for a place in the cosmos, when we do not even have the heart to fight for our own - much less animals, nature or the planet.
I wish I did not care. I wish I could care less. I wish, I wish, I wish. I will often question if it is just pretentiousness and subsequently second guess my own apparatus and heart. I will accuse myself of being a manipulative asshole that only feels this way, because it makes me feel righteous, special or good about myself. But I know it is not true. I am an empath and I hate every second of it. It does not make me feel good. A recently acquired friend shoved it in my face ‘oh, you’re an empath, that’s no fun, I mean, it’s lovely, but it’s horrible’. She was spot on. She often is. Unfortunately for her, it is a case of taking one to know one.
Some of us have big hearts. But it may come as a surprise to many of you, that it is a horrible burden. A bird hit the windshield at my parents, and I could not rest before I knew it was ok (80% of small birds die either way). I was passing the corridor in the house, what turns out to be a small moth flies toward me, and in the dark I instinctively swat it softly. When I get the lights on, the small fella is running in circles on the floor. That absolutely destroys me. You see? It is a fucked up way to live.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // Hipster Scheister
I remember the first time someone said to me ‘but you’re a hipster’. The glare I sent the person in question, almost sent him to an early grave. Hipsters are retro fakers in my book - it is just a fad, just modern morons thinking it makes them authentic. All these soft men with long beards and tattoos coming out of every crevice, trying to convince you they are ‘pain addicts’. Yeah, try living with the gout, pussies. Pain becomes very relative then.
Both women and men buy clothes in second hand stores for prices that would make Solomon blush. When they’re studying, an old type writer is positioned in front of an MacAir which, when you check their screen out, rather often, either is working hard on an empty Word doc or being very creative on Facebook. Hipsters SUCK - hence I scoffed, when I was likened to one.
Shit man, be different, I get it, but be you. Donning someone else’s visage or craving what others have, or indeed are capable of, is not you. And if you want to provoke, have substance and be clever about it - and most important of all: do not be a copycat.
Why are you letting yourself be ‘influenced’? ‘Omg, that’s so cool’ - no, it is not. Cool is Quentin, cool is knowing your shit, cool is knowledge - cool is not some rich trouser stain telling you what to buy, who to emulate and what to think. But we already had this discussion at the cusp of entering 2000, and look where we are. Harrrruuuumpff.
I am shooting myself in the foot not branding my stuff on IG, or being my own person. I remain insignificant to most, but I will just dig my heels in. One thing, though. Well, actually two. I am not a hipster and you should get a shave, manchild.
Zaar Riisberg (Zaarchasm) // Easter Promises
Do not look for a fight with the enemy. Beg God for peace and security. But if you do end up facing the enemy, then show endurance, and remember that the gates of paradise lie in the shadow of the sword. - Muhammad
Does this sound like a religion that goes looking for a fight to you? It says what every other ideology has spouted, what every national state has imbued in their citizens. Protect your loved ones, seek peace and only fight if you must - and then reminded them that there is honor in defending those that cannot fend for themselves.
Suicide bombers are suicide bombers, terrorism is terrorism and radical is radical - they are not married to one ideology, and are, rather, just examples of how broken we are as a race. We just celebrated Easter, a Christian holiday for a man that Islam recognises as a prophet. So what is the problem really? Same as in what we have just seen in respect to the (former) conflict in Ireland. Some people just want to see the world burn. In Denmark we have an idiot wrapping the Quran in bacon and BBQ’ing it. You can have one guess as to how our media handles it. Exactly, it is all they talk about. A piece of shit provocateur with no following to speak of, but he gets a ton of media coverage.
So here is my message for Easter: pull you head out of media in general and make up your own damn mind - chances are, that you are smarter than journalists anyway. Sod media personalities, journalists and ‘celebs’ - do not let them define your outlook.
Truth is not out there - you have to take life from instance to instance in constant analysis.
Zaar Riisberg // What's Life About
I am moving. In so many ways, but also physically. Going through stuff, I come across an old journal. A lot of the entries surprise me, and not only the ones laced with ‘weltschmerz’, but also some moments of clarity mixed in with frustration. In 1997 I wrote, that I still had no idea what life was about.
I still wrestle with that question. But I guess I found some part of the answer - since, for me, it is about being a factor for others and an inspiration. My role is to tell you ‘it is going to be alright’ or ‘I got you, do not worry’. I have been frustrated, because that was taken from me. But I will not -again- examine what that cost me. Rather, I would like to examine what life is about.
Your answer most likely differs from mine, which fits well with Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Camus’ notion that generally speaking, there is no higher purpose. In this meaninglessness it falls to the individual to create its own meaning in the face of this. It also sits well with the fact that no two living entities experience reality the same way.
For most people that dot the landscape of this amalgamation of rock and dirt their children become what their life is about. Not only due to the feeble nature of our offspring the first years, and the need for constant nurture - but also because life stops being about your choices and what you want. Yet others decide on realising themselves understanding that kids are not an option. There is a blessing in both.
But one thing, I am pretty sure of, and biology backs me up on this one - we are supposed to care for each other, not seek vilification or division or push people in need away. If you agree with this, I am quite sure you also feel like you are constantly repeating yourself when you write or talk to people. I know I do.
And I still wonder, to the point of frustration, why, when life is that easy - when being good or honourable takes less effort than scheming to manipulate, when sharing trumps hoarding and greed, when helping feels better than fucking people over - why be an arse?
I find it ironic that I am going on about honour, but even more so, with my life long resistance to religion - I find it piss funny that I am the one going on about morals.
Kids and animals make it worthwhile for me, and more importantly, the people I love. My thirst for knowledge is what keeps me going and gives me drive.
What about you? What is your answer?
(you can comment as a guest on AB posts, you don’t have to log in)
Lasse Fischer // On the Subject of The Moment
There is a certain something about arriving in a new geography. The mountain top you haven’t seen before has a certain shimmer to it, and you swear that the sun never broke through the clouds quite like it did just now. The opera of the world is to be found in places where you let it slide underneath your skin, out where the need to put up your guard dissipates.
Open roads and sweeping fields of rock and ice; they find their way through the pores of your skin; they seep into your bones and drive away the ache. It feels reinvigorating, it feels honest, it feels grandiose. Shadows moves on boulders as the car cuts through the landscape. In the horizon a church spire grows over a still lake. Vulcanized rubber makes a steady roll, and a gnashing of gravel accompanies the silent hum stemming from underneath the hood of the car, and you start to remember why you keep a camera nearby. Pick it up, try to capture the moment. It doesn’t succeed. The moment is already gone, it was meant to be something fleeting this time. Clouds drift lazily around in the sky. It doesn’t matter. You put down the camera.
A dreamlike haze has descended on the passengers in the vehicle. Seeing the world through a haze is an oft-forgot tool. It dulls the senses just enough to let the sharp edges turn round and soft. The heavy knots that tie you to the crust of the earth have loosened and slips off your wrists. As soon as the bonds hit the floor of the car the though tears itself free, and your body starts to feel light. You can see the thought leave through the window next to you and speed off to frolic on the nearest mountain top from where it dives into a milky white cloud. And the road, the road with its yellow lines stretches itself through the windshield and leaves out the back.
The car slowly dissolves until it isn’t there anymore, and you hover in the midst of nature, suspended over asphalt and snow in the hum from the motor, and then you blink again, breaking the hallucination. There is something to be learned here, there is a truth in this, and it is to be felt. This truth is not to be put on the torture rack of analysis and discussion; it is not to have its soul plucked from its chest through confession. It is quiet and dignified, and it slips through your fingers as the car follows a bend in the road.
The ocean sneaks up on you from the right. White foam dances on top of the wave before it is thrown ashore and its bubbles are left to burst on the black sand of Iceland. You step out of the car and slam the door behind you. Making your way to the water the wind whips your face, making it blush, feeling tiny needles on your skin. Deep breath, long exhale. The cold burrows underneath your coat from the outside seeking to warm itself with your body heat. You raise the camera and try to catch the clash and dance.
In the city, darkness slowly sets upon people, and the street lamps flicker on, spreading their yellow cones over blankets and signs. In front of the police station, you hear the drums of the poor and forgotten.
