painting photos: 1001 nights

27 Apr 2014

1001 nights

Ljubljana, Slovenia. August 2013

When you enter thought the door, you are taken to that stories you've been told as a child from the book 1001 Nights full of vibrant colours, oriental smells, Ali Baba and the Forthy Thieves, Sinbad the Sailor, magic lamp, Aladdin and the Princes, and the magic flying carpet to "show you the world, shinning, shimmering, splendid".

My most sincere gratitude goes to Galerija Farzad and extremely to Aleš and Nazanin for their patience, kindness and openness to share stories and secrets of hand-made carpets while my photographic endeavours.

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one could ask

One could ask why I do take all these photos. There is probably only one answer. I wish one day to show to my children how beautiful world was when I was growing. To show transparent lakes, rivers and oceans, green fields and forests, wild flora and fauna that I could find in them, blue and clear sky, rainbow after the rain, birds and butterflies, other natural beauties. I wish to reveal how the nature was changing with every season – how everything was dying in autumns and reborn again in springs. Also, I want to show a piece of humans’ mind, imagination and creativity results. I want to be able to show how children were playing and felt the joy of new discoveries. I wish to capture and show people around me, happy and sad, because they had all this; besides, true, face-to-face contacts and it was real. But all this has changed and keep on changing.

Transparent waters are getting more and more polluted. The countless species have already disappeared or at the edge of extinction even now while I am writing here. Sky is not anymore so blue and bright and you may see the rainbow very rarely as it is hidden behind the ashes that all factories and automobiles around our planet produce. Where have four seasons, that I have been so much enjoying when I was a child, gone? Where have winters disappeared with falling soft snowflakes, fluffy snow and snowmen next to nearly each house? Where are springs with geminating flora and coming back birds from the South? Where have these summers, when going by bike you could stop and pick up wild strawberries that were growing not very far and still feel safe, vanished? Is there any wild strawberry still growing? Where are autumns with colourful falling leaves and calm rains?

Where have playing children disappeared from courtyards? Now they are mostly browsing in the Internet and playing computer games. They probably even do not know what it is to play barley-break, snow fight or just be running around neighbourhoods as we have stolen the possibility from them to have a real childhood. The one we had. Now each child knows how to chat online with the friends. Yet does s/he know how to speak with them? Do they know how to talk and hear each other, and how discover new things? Or nothing is left for them to discover as Google has all answers s/he might need. Do they know how to grow and learn together? How not to fight, consider others and feel affection?

When did the last time you walk from you home without your mobile, mp3 player, iPod, laptop or some other tech? When did the last time you walk on the street and met more people just talking to each other rather than talking on their mobile or texting? When did all this happen the last time? When?

Where has this perpetuum mobile the uncountable generations were going through gone? Who are we to destroy it? Who are we to exploit everything and do leave nothing to the future generations? Indeed, we can enjoy numeral luxuries but the question is if our children and grandchildren will have at least half or maybe the third of it? Or simple there will be no children and grandchildren as the living conditions will be not anymore favourable for human-beings to live here? Where are we bringing our Blue Planet to?

Do, DO something now until is not too late. Do not try to change the world. The world is already changing. Change small things, day by day in your own life, change the way you live, consume and treat the environment around, and others may follow you. This way you will change the world and hopefully to the better direction than it is changing now.

No, do not take me wrong. I am not against technological changes. I am for technological improvements that would not be destructive. That in these steel, concrete and wireless jungles that are replacing green fields and forests will be some true and real human contact without any intermediates.

And still, I will keep on picturing and painting-picturing, just in case. If you and I succeed, we will show to our descendants the path of our evolution, of our defeats and achievements. If we do not succeed to bring some positive changes by the way we live, then at least we will have something to show if there will be anyone to show to.

– G. Š.