exhibitions archive: hydrothermal dreams / part 1

"Hydrothermal Dreams"

Out of respect for viewers who may be offended by some parts of the unclothed figure I have created two parts (for the web) from what is one body of work. This is Part 1.

The figurative works in this section are not revealing of body areas considered embarassing or taboo to some viewers. The thumbnail images on the left should safely inform you. If they feel too exposed for you please pass the Hydrothermal Dreams gallery altogether.

Before clicking this link to view Part 2 please read the following. Notice: A warning to those viewers who may be offended by an unclothed human. There are nude people throughout this gallery. Though tastefully artistic, for some folks that is not the issue. If you are a youth whose parents would never take you to a show of nude photographs or are at work etc. perhaps you'd better pass on this gallery. Respect your own cultural views and those of others in your presence please. Thank you.

If you can't look you may still want to read the statement below. It's not bad at conveying what it's like to soak in a natural hot spring.

 

REFLECTIONS FROM A HOT SPRING: Photographer’s Statement

The dream state: when one separates a bit from the body...

Soaking in the hot spring makes you dream; becomes a dream. You pinch your already reddened skin. It becomes a bit redder, but are you convinced you are not dreaming? Lying naked under the sky you listen to the sounds: the stream flowing next to this warm pool, the birds, the wind, the trickle of hot dreamy water flowing into the pool. Or submerge and listen to the trickle magnified and the bubbles breaking on the surface.

Daydreaming ... recalling another time deep within the past before you donned your fig leaf. Is this paradise? You reconnect your brain to your eyes, you see figures, the steam engulfs them; the water distorts their shapes. You pinch yourself again then slip away into that other consciousness. It becomes more difficult to separate your being from this hot pool. Finally, you are lost, in a trance.

Figures dance, they play in the light; they seem to play with the light; shadowy forms materialize, the breeze blows they disappear then steamily return again. Whose spirits are these? Do they belong to the wind, the water, or only your mind? Perhaps they are part of your spirit – it seems to all be one, all one in this vision. Where are you?

A shimmering mirror is suspended over your head; the figures melt together; becoming inkblots, they press your imagination. You surface and breathe again the cool air. You watch the vapor enter your body, you see more, feel more, have become whole again, you have found your spirit in this "hydrothermal dream".