Thanks for the moving portraits and the links pointing to Māori history. The Blue Chair practice has very strong echoes of Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is in the Room”, which is as disturbing as it is moving and intimate. I’m sure you’re aware of it. And your photos really are about presence and relationship.
I had a vague memory of an artist doing something similar but I couldn't remember the name of the artist, so thanks for mentioning Marina Abramovic's work. I looked up what she was doing at that time (e.g. MoMA in 2010). She's pretty hard core.
Being in the close presence of another person, especially a stranger, can be confronting. Fronting up in the presence of a stranger can be pretty hard. But simply being in the presence of another, especially if you occupy the same position (both are strangers to one another and to the world) can be a calming, levelling experience. It can be a recalibration, a reset. A lot is determined by what a person brings to the event and what that person hopes to take away from it, if anything. The silence makes it less likely to be a transactional relationship, or one in which one person exercises power over the other. It gets us back to the basics of who we are and what our relationship is, or could be, with others.
Yes, I think you're right. The means may differ, but many of us have similar intentions and goals. It's a bit like how we use Substack. We get what we give. If we want connections, we have to connect with others. If we want engagement, we have to engage. If we want conversations, we have to converse. If we want to earn attention, we have to pay attention.
Thanks for the moving portraits and the links pointing to Māori history. The Blue Chair practice has very strong echoes of Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is in the Room”, which is as disturbing as it is moving and intimate. I’m sure you’re aware of it. And your photos really are about presence and relationship.
I had a vague memory of an artist doing something similar but I couldn't remember the name of the artist, so thanks for mentioning Marina Abramovic's work. I looked up what she was doing at that time (e.g. MoMA in 2010). She's pretty hard core.
Being in the close presence of another person, especially a stranger, can be confronting. Fronting up in the presence of a stranger can be pretty hard. But simply being in the presence of another, especially if you occupy the same position (both are strangers to one another and to the world) can be a calming, levelling experience. It can be a recalibration, a reset. A lot is determined by what a person brings to the event and what that person hopes to take away from it, if anything. The silence makes it less likely to be a transactional relationship, or one in which one person exercises power over the other. It gets us back to the basics of who we are and what our relationship is, or could be, with others.
What we aim for in photography, no?
Yes, I think you're right. The means may differ, but many of us have similar intentions and goals. It's a bit like how we use Substack. We get what we give. If we want connections, we have to connect with others. If we want engagement, we have to engage. If we want conversations, we have to converse. If we want to earn attention, we have to pay attention.
Love the content and the story! Thanks for sharing !