CONVERSATION WITH A VIEW

Gairloch, Scotland, September 2012.
Ceangal=connection Art Residence
http://ceangalart.blogspot.com/
Photographs 1.20m x 80 cm

Upon arriving in the incredibly beautiful and pristine area of Gairloch It was very clear to me that this place needed no artistic intervention whatsoever on my behalf and that probably whatever I did would be spoiling its immaculate perfection, the incredible subtlety of its qualities, the unbelievable soft scent of its minuscule flowers, the icy cold ocean with minke whales and the mossy forest. What a spectacular landscape. It seemed I was the only person there, and I often was. Why would I want to leave a mark of my passage? it did not need me. Therefore, I decided to have a conversation with the view rather than intervene it.

Every morning, I wrote a word or two on a small piece of fabric and walked with it for the rest of the day, until I found a spot that corresponded and conversed with what I had written in the morning. I would take a picture of this place with this word and then remove the word. I continued to walk in this manner for two weeks. This is how the conversation went.



So I set off like the man on the moon, feeling sort of Robinson Crusoe, except I'm marooned somewhere immense where only my seeming individuality appears to be the island.

This is only natural
What have I set out to conquer?
What Universe?
If I shall only speak to myself
Its all You
what universe?
it's all You
The owner of Yes
Infinitely
forever and ever
if it weren't for you
certainly
it's all going Your way
All


On one of my walks, I met a beautiful lady who lived in the only house at the shore of Loch Marie, one of the most heavenly and pristine places I have ever seen. We had dinner at her splendid home. However, she told me was not happy. She felt she was a prisoner of this place, taken away from the city life that she loved. Her story echoed in my mind for a few days until I decided to call her. I visited her again and asked her to write a letter to this lake, using only cut out words from a few newspapers. We put her words in tiny paper boats and sailed them out into the lake.
As the small fleet sailed away, it began to rain like it only rains in Scotland. In a few moments, we were drenched to the bone. There was no point in trying to get away from it. I realized my camera was probably going to see its last day. But it was also my last day in Scotland, and I only had one piece of fabric in my pocket remaining for my conversation project, and it had only one word, and this word was "ALL". So I decided to venture into the lake and set my flag in the water. As I was focusing my small and very wet flag, something extraordinary happened: the rain ceased and into my viewfinder came the most enormous double rainbow, reflected perfectly in the lake’s windless and mirror-like surface. It was as if an enormous eye was actually looking back at us, accepting the offering. Her relationship with this lake had changed forever.