Thursday, January 29, 2009

Silent Respiration of Forests.








Silent Respiration of Forests. Mori no Hida. Photographs by Takeshi Shikama. toseisha, Tokyo, 2008. Unpaged, Black & white illustrations throughout., 10½x15".

"The Silent Respiration of Forests:

An endless stretch
Of tree columns overlapping one another,
Ever so rhythmic to the eye.
There pervades a deep silence.
Yet, listening carefully to the surging, undulating sea of trees,
A slight murmur can be heard.
Beckoned by this voice,
I step inside this unknown world,
Wondering to myself:
Is this really the entrance to a blissful paradise?
Between the cluster of trees, I catch a glimpse of a huge tree.
As if magnetized,
Step by step, I find myself approaching this tree,
Tilting its enormous trunk at a slight angle,
Wearing a lofty air befitting the lord of the forest...
Suddenly,
I sensed a voice from deep within the curtain of silence
Warning me not to go any further,
And I stopped.
The depth of the forest was filled with an uncanny air
For something seemed to be lurking there.

This series of photographs is an expression of my search for the soul of the deep forests."


Stockholm is a winter wonderland again.

No comments: