finding eden

Three-part Photographic Series
San Francisco, Los Angeles
2017 — 2019

Adjacent to the development of this photographic series, a piece of writing in particular came to my attention: The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption by renowned British astrologer, Liz Greene. It explores the mythology and symbolisms surrounding the planet, Neptune––its association with water, the subconscious, delusions, glamour, mirrors, redemption, martyrdom, as well as various religious and political occurrences throughout history that emphasised the aforementioned themes. Neptune’s water symbolism and the longing for redemption as exemplified in the figure of Jesus Christ became the ontological basis for this series.

The second part, The In-between, begins with references to fish––their silver-blue hues as captured in the reflection of surfaces on automobiles and buildings, prompting a vision of San Francisco, perpetually cloaked in a sea of mist with intermittent rays of sunlight, as remnant of a once underwater world within which entities meander about throughout the day. The interplay of light, shadow, and moisture becomes the backdrop and occasionally, the subject explored. It is as much a snapshot of the quotidian–an account of the visual progressions throughout a day, as an intimation on the Biblical trajectory of man from the Fall, to Expulsion from Paradise, and ultimately, Redemption. Each section in this three-part series is titled accordingly: (1)The Fall; (2) The In-between; (3)Where do birds go to die?