Looking at the ground on a sunny day, we tend to ignore the shadows following us around. They are a phenomenon we are all used to, and see on a daily basis. But what actually is a shadow? And why am I so attracted to them?
While reflecting on the pictures I gathered during one week, I noticed that some of them were pictures of shadows, both mine and of other objects. I never questioned myself on why I picked those pictures, but as I looked and them more and more, my mind lingered on why I did choose them.
I think what intrigues me about shadows is the fact that they exist for everything in this world, every object, every person, every texture… However, they are each different from what they reflect. The shadow of a person is thinner and longer than what that person. The shadow of a sharp object can be soft and with rounded edges as it can be sharp. Still, without an object, without anything, a shadow doesn’t exist. In addition to that, when thought about it, shadows are actually the absence of light. They are generated by a blockage of the sun and projected onto something. For a shadow to appear, light needs to be shining, and as the light shines, the absence of light is created.
I think this paradox is what intrigues me in capturing shadows. Nonetheless, it is also because they are some kind of an imprint of us on the world, as we are the ones who create them.
