Encounters: Literature of Transformation and Transcendence is a fascinating religious studies course at my high school. For my final project, I decided to create a set of images to summarize and reflect upon the books/materials we studied in this course. I found the process of completing this project particularly interesting, as this was the first time I planned almost every aspect of my artistic creation. Contrary to my usual spontaneous approach to photography, I visualized desired outcome in my head, drew storyboards, shot most of the “component” images in a studio, as well as arranged and combined them in a very deliberate manner to convey my understanding of a certain text. In this process, I believe I have explored the potential of photography as a creative and story-telling force rather than a mere documentary tool. Personally, I feel that this is a very important milestone to my understanding of art and photography.
In this image, I have photographed several elements of John Miller’s Paradise Lost and merged them into one scene. I used a human figure with his hand outstretched and reaching for an apple as a metaphor for Adam and Eve tasting the Forbidden Fruit. The translucence of the apple suggests that it can never be fully grasped, just like a person can never fully control his or her irrational desires like greed and curiosity. Furthermore, I placed a satanic hand over the figure’s distorted face to illustrate the notion of possession, or being controlled by Satan. Finally, I intertwined an image representing the Tree of Knowledge with the other images to indicate the location where the event occurred.
Mark Slazman’s Lying Awake depicts the internal struggle of a nun who must decide if she should receive a surgery that threatens to sever her intimate spiritual tie with God. She faces a difficult choice between reason and faith. In this image, I represent faith with the praying figure on the left and reason with the open eyes that spread across the image. In the background, light bounces off the leaves of a pine tree, a metaphor for God’s grace.
Reason and faith are two very different ways of understanding the mysteries around us. While the former is often based on factual observation and analysis, the latter relies on establishing a spiritual connection with a higher being or truth. I believe that it is important to regard reason and faith as parts of a whole. Our vision of the world is only complete when we keep an open mind to different ways of perception.
Yunzhi Pan 