By Patrick La Roque
I really did completely lose track of this assignment. I never do that. It's funny how so many plans just fizzle out these days, diluted in the permeating haze. Btw can I mention just how sick I am of always adding these days to everything I write? It's almost like an apology. I need to stop doing this.
The goal of the Definitions project was to take a deep dive into who we are, as individuals and photographers. Of course, we never imagined so much would change. Our private conversations, as a group, have slowed considerably. Mainly because I think we're all tired of constantly repeating ourselves (“all good here, kinda...not much to add...same old, same old...”), or too busy focusing on survival, on the future, our families and our sanity.
Sigh…
I hated airplanes.
I miss airplanes.
I miss the knowledge of possible encounters. I miss hanging out with my buddies halfway across the globe too. Our planet was tiny and it got big again. Sprawling, desert-like and unattainable.
Most people define themselves through the work they do—I am a lawyer, I am a programmer, I am an electrician—but there remains a form of compartmentalization. When the day ends, the persona usually gets left behind. I don't want to pretend we're in any way special, but I believe it IS different for creative types. Because the engine for that work, the persona's roots, spring from within ourselves. It becomes difficult to separate this from the whole. The walls are thinner here.
So, what's left to define then, when our activity stops? Who are we left with? I feel like a TV actor whose show has ended. Typecast and suddenly without a script to learn and remember.
...
These are pictures of objects that surround me.
Some have meaning, some are merely clues to other spaces;
all are portals,
into the past or future.
