Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

Hermann Hesse

 

The forest is part of my life. As soon as I find myself in one, I become joyful and inspired. It is as if my senses sharpen and I am guided by an invisible force. I do not only see the trees, but also the space between them.

My collection of forest photos is created through multiple exposures, a process where I layer two or more individual photographs on top of each other to create a new image. A type of photography where different visual captures are combined to melt into a new reality. For me, it is all about concentration and truth.

Every one of us lives in his or her own reality, with their own truths and beliefs. Because, according to communication theorist and psychologist Paul Watzlawick, this is the only way to have structure and purpose in our lives. This mechanism, however, can lead to great rifts in society, as we are seeing happening again right now. What is undeniable to some is surreal and foreign to others. Still, there is something that connects us all. Psychoanalyst C.G. Jung called it the “collective unconscious”. Jung believed that humans are connected through generations of shared experiences and knowledge. To this day, mythical- and fairy tales give us stories of feelings like security and sincerity, but also fear or danger, as well as fascination. Today, we do not hear about thieves or wolves who swallow grandmothers, but, because the forest has often taken a center stage in such stories, the image of the sometimes dangerous, sometimes protecting forest, stays with us until this day. The fascination with the forest is recaptured in my images.

In my work, I am striving towards capturing the connections between contrasting realities, and the resulting truths. Usual thinking patterns, such as those of good and evil, are being questioned and might even dissolve entirely. What happens, if opposing perspectives are present simultaneously? Do they stand in competition with each other, or do they fuse together, creating new perspectives and truths?

At first glance, my multiple exposure photographs seem honest and true to nature. Upon closer inspection, however, the observer will find that they are composed with breaks and disharmony and every viewer can look for his or her own truths.
Not amongst the “either/or”, but the “together/next to each other/with each other”. Through the simultaneous appearance of different realities, unity becomes possible. A deeply feminine feature. I am convinced of this dynamic and strive to show it in my work.