A reflection on a mountain and some water
This is an image that I have had saved in my phone for many years, I am not sure of the origin of the photo, perhaps it was saved from Tumblr as I once would spend hours scrolling through such online blogs after school.
Although I do not remember when I saved the image, I do remember why: it makes me feel peaceful.
The subdued saturation of colour in this image makes me feel cool and I anticipate the feeling of soft rain about to fall onto my skin.
There is a tradition style of Chinese painting called shan shui, directly translated it means ‘mountain-water’. This image reminds me of a landscape scene in an inky shan shui painting.
The mountain-water composition is encapsulated by Chapter 1 in Micro-Landscapes: Marginal Worlds. This image depicts no human life and as such can be seen as “[destabilising] the notion of humankind as a dictatorial planetary force vis-a-vis submissive animals, plants, elements and atmospheres, by instead highlighting the complex and overlooked connections and dichotomies that exist between these various entities”. In this image we see the blue, green, and browns of the earth represented by the interconnection of land and sea… mountain and water.
- Steph Philipov, z3417828
