this/that/?


  • Photographer
    Samah Alrajhi
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Date of Photograph
    June 2013
  • Technical Info
    Long shutter

A series that tells a story. It could be a happy-story/sad-story/? depending on the viewer's perception. Titles of individual photos: 1. hello/goodbye/? 2. walk-toward/walk-away/? 3. cry/shy/?

Story

It is hard to understand. We have a robust mind that searches for meanings everywhere. It looks at people, nature, still and moving, observes, connects, analyzes. It looks for meaning. But sometimes it gets hard. Objective description of life is easy, but finding meaning, the true meaning, is not.
It is fascinating how each human sees life differently. Each one sees the same exact thing differently. More fascinating is how the same person sees the same thing differently at different times, sometimes even at the same time! It gets more confusing when it comes to emotions or intentions. We try to read into people's behaviors, actions, and may think that we know what they mean and what their intentions are, but we can't know for sure, unless they told us. What we see needs to be supported by words for us to be certain we understand correctly. But what if they weren't telling the truth? That's always a possibility, and so it goes with our understanding.
This series is a simple story, but is it a happy one or a sad one? Maybe it's neither? Or both? The photos are supported with words: their titles. That should make it easier to figure out. But the titles are presented in a multiple-choice fashion. Is this a hello or goodbye? Is she walking towards someone or away? Is she acting shy or is she crying? There's always a third open-ended choice. It is the question mark, the unknown, which is always a possibility.
The story could go like this: Waving hello excitedly, walking towards him, feeling ecstatic and shy! Or like this: Goodbye, walk away, cry. Or many more endless possibilities.
The photos are black and white which ties in with the narrow part of the title: Black or white, this or that? What about the many shades of grey, both the subtle and dramatic? And what about the unseen?
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Titles of individual photographs:
1. hello/goodbye/?
2. walk-toward/walk-away/?
3. cry/shy/?

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