Have you ever had a lucid dream? Lucidity begins in the midst of a dream when becoming aware that you are dreaming and you can influence what happens. During lucid dreaming you have the freedom to choose the background, the characters, the scenery and the sequence of the events. Awaking from such an enlightening experience, you have a unique sense of being alive and an ultimate knowledge of your freedom and existence. If your consciousness plays such an active role in the constitution of the dream world, why does it vanish in the real world where you feel you have little control over?
These images are narratives in the form of a lucid dream, both conscious and unconscious attempts to illustrate a part of my world. They balance between the boundaries of dream and reality, between memory and the drift of time. There is no sequence or answer. Like playing a card game with friends, my pictures may suggest a different story telling, depending on the editing. Viewers can create their own stories or decide which side of the mirror they belong to.
When the location creates the proper atmosphere, I figure out a way to place my subject or integrate myself into the frame. People always remain the dominant feature of the composition. Photographing and at the same time being in front of the camera reveals hidden worlds. The final result is more felt than seen through the camera. Self portraits are an act of vulnerability. They are also an attempt to control your own image and to recreate yourself. Being seen by others, forces you to see yourself as an object viewed by someone else and this awareness makes you more conscious. The whole process resembles lucid dreaming.
”…We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
is rounded with a sleep”
Prospero – W. Shakespeare
