What if we lived in a world that saw water as holy, alive, and worthy of devotion like we do the gods and goddesses of human likeness? How would that change our understanding of water? How would that change our understanding of God?
This conceptual fine art photography series, "If Water Was God", explores the imagination of a new world of reverence and caring devotion to the waters that run around and through us. It looks critically at the dominant religions of our time and how those have shaped our worldview and fostered a disconnection from nature and personal, empowered spirituality.
These images invite the viewer to reconsider the gods and heroes of our current paradigm and start looking for inspiration outside our human stories. If Water Was God, we could see ourselves in its reflection. We could reimagine our story as thirst quenchers, life givers, essential and connected to all life on earth.
“The image is a dream, the beauty is real. Can you see the difference?” -Richard Bach, Illusions
“The image is a dream, the beauty is real. Can you see the difference?” -Richard Bach, Illusions
"Arethusa", September 2022 Conceptual Photo Art, Richmond, VA
"Sublimation"
"Running Through Us"
"Refractions"
"Luminary 2"
"But a Dream"
"Womb of Creation"
"Water Birth"
"Depollute Me"
"Luminary"
"Bowl of Tears"
"Before the fall" April 2023 COnceptual Photo Art, Toxaway Falls, NC
As I’ve been expanding on the concept “If Water Was God”, exploring my own relationship with “God” has required me to unpack my relationship with religion.
The organized religions that promote the story of the fall as a warning against sin and separation from God often perpetuate a disconnection from nature, authentic relationships, and our own divinity through their dogma and hierarchical structures. By emphasizing the separation between humanity and God, these religions reinforce a mindset that views nature, including our own, as something to be dominated and controlled rather than something to be revered and respected. Our animal nature, our connection to our environment, is something to transcend and from which we must be saved.
We cannot have true, authentic, fulfilling relationships based on domination and control. We cannot truly love one another or become stewards of this planet if we do not honor the inherent value of our own being and every living thing.
Full write-up on Substack:
The organized religions that promote the story of the fall as a warning against sin and separation from God often perpetuate a disconnection from nature, authentic relationships, and our own divinity through their dogma and hierarchical structures. By emphasizing the separation between humanity and God, these religions reinforce a mindset that views nature, including our own, as something to be dominated and controlled rather than something to be revered and respected. Our animal nature, our connection to our environment, is something to transcend and from which we must be saved.
We cannot have true, authentic, fulfilling relationships based on domination and control. We cannot truly love one another or become stewards of this planet if we do not honor the inherent value of our own being and every living thing.
Full write-up on Substack:
"Halo"
"Fountain of Hippocrene"
"Fish Don't Exist"
"Have Me"
"Like Water She Rose"
"Asunder"
"Washed Up"
"Blue Mind"
"String Theory"
“Pronoia” Conceptual Photo Art, July 2023
I’m always looking for through-lines, patterns, or connections between seemingly disparate entities or events. An innately human quality, I suppose…. but for as many conspiracy theories as we humans enthusiastically conjure up, there also appears to be many loose ends in our attempts to find connections with each other and the natural world.
Is everything only connected and working together when it’s working to keep us down?
Not to say the rich and powerful aren’t in cahoots to keep us down… I certainly can see that they are, but let’s not neglect to appreciate all the forces that conspire to lift us up.
For example, I can think of a hundred tiny events that were required for this particular piece of art to be made… small choices, like my mom getting me a subscription to creative live for Christmas a few years ago not even knowing it had exactly what I needed inside. Like me hearing a poem and deciding to invest in underwater camera housing not knowing my friend had been practicing underwater modeling for months prior. And countless more…
We are not islands, even when it feels that way. We are connected. Forces are conspiring to lift us up and keep us down perhaps in equal measure, which creates the unique unfolding of our lives.
Is everything only connected and working together when it’s working to keep us down?
Not to say the rich and powerful aren’t in cahoots to keep us down… I certainly can see that they are, but let’s not neglect to appreciate all the forces that conspire to lift us up.
For example, I can think of a hundred tiny events that were required for this particular piece of art to be made… small choices, like my mom getting me a subscription to creative live for Christmas a few years ago not even knowing it had exactly what I needed inside. Like me hearing a poem and deciding to invest in underwater camera housing not knowing my friend had been practicing underwater modeling for months prior. And countless more…
We are not islands, even when it feels that way. We are connected. Forces are conspiring to lift us up and keep us down perhaps in equal measure, which creates the unique unfolding of our lives.
"On High"
"Fjord Visitation"
"Salt and Stone"
"Ablution"
“Waters of Sisyphus” Conceptual Photo Art, August 2023, Norway
They say things have always been this bad, we just are more aware of it now…. We’re more honest, more educated, more connected, more empowered than ever before in human history.
Cleaning up our mess is always a labor of love… to clean the dishes only to dirty them again. Some days it feels like a meaningless and exhausting exercise in futility… other days it feels like a dinner party with old friends and wine and candles.
When I look at the state of the world and the muck we are mired in, I also see love. I see people cleaning knowing it will always be dirty in hopes of another dinner party someday soon. I see artists noticing the beauty of this life amidst all the mess we’ve made.
Cleaning up our mess is always a labor of love… to clean the dishes only to dirty them again. Some days it feels like a meaningless and exhausting exercise in futility… other days it feels like a dinner party with old friends and wine and candles.
When I look at the state of the world and the muck we are mired in, I also see love. I see people cleaning knowing it will always be dirty in hopes of another dinner party someday soon. I see artists noticing the beauty of this life amidst all the mess we’ve made.