Continuum (Dualities), (London, 2019-2024)
Analogue and Digital Photography
14x21 cm
Continuum delves into the persistence of form and essence amidst transformation. The title, derived from the Latin continuus (meaning "unbroken whole"), reflects the fluidity of existence and the cyclical changes that leave traces of their origins even as they evolve.
This series comprises paired photographs—digital and analog, high-resolution and low, black-and-white and color—that bridge disparate visual languages. It interrogates a shared theme: the interplay of time, perception, and materiality. Each pair juxtaposes moments, materials, or objects that echo one another, investigating how continuity and change coexist and raising questions about identity, intervention, and the narratives we construct around transient cycles of change.
This work emerged from a disconnected and chaotic archive of photographs. Initially shot without a predefined purpose—merely as documentation of moments and interests—the images began to reveal connections when revisited. Each question sparked a new pairing, forming relationships that were not premeditated but discovered through reflection.
The eclectic mix of mediums mirrors the fragmented nature of memory and experience. Rather than a flaw, this visual contrast emphasizes the coexistence of continuity and disparity.
Continuum invites viewers to explore the inherent dualities of existence: presence and absence, permanence and transformation, the natural and the constructed. By pairing seemingly unrelated images, the work challenges us to find connections. It seeks the echoes of one form within another, asking how we navigate the transient yet persistent cycles of change around us.
Viewers are encouraged to draw their own connections between the pairs, expanding the dialogue beyond the presented narratives.
Act 1 Girl
A young girl walking on a beach is juxtaposed with an older woman in a similar setting. Both figures wear nearly identical hats. The individuals and places are distinct, yet the parallels evoke the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life. Are we witnessing a single story stretching across years, or do these echoes highlight universal themes of growth, change, and return?
Act 2 Man
A man standing in the sea wearing a Speedo contrasts with another man on a city street wearing leather chaps, his buttocks exposed. These are not the same person or place, yet the images share an intimate rawness. The beach accepts nudity without question, while the city imposes boundaries. These contrasts challenge us to consider how context reshapes what we perceive as natural or transgressive.
Act 3 Water
The transformation of water is explored through images of waves crashing together in motion and icicles hanging still in suspension. Rooted in chemistry, the cycle of ice turning to water and back to ice reflects nature’s capacity for transformation. Yet, the emotional response to these states—dynamic versus static—is profoundly different. How does perception shape our experience of the same essence in altered forms?
Act 4 Tree
A vibrant, colorful tree is paired with its blurred, black-and-white counterpart. In the latter, a dark mark—interpreted as a trash bag—disrupts the natural composition. Without explanation, the ambiguity persists, prompting reflection on how perception shifts when clarity is obscured. Does the vibrant color of one tree tell a different story than the muted tones of the other? Or is it the intrusion of the human-made that alters our understanding?
Act 5 Boat
Boats resting in the sea contrast with one pulled ashore to decay. Does the identity of a vessel persist when it no longer fulfills its purpose? The boat, once buoyant and functional, is now weathered and abandoned. Is this transformation an end, or does it signify a new kind of continuity?
Act 6 Clouds
A cloud fills the skyline in one image, while its reflection emerges from a building’s window in another. The original, free-floating form contrasts with its mirrored perception—a commentary on humanity’s encroachment on nature. As urban structures obscure the sky, will reflections become the only way we experience clouds? Does the act of reflection alter the emotional essence of what we see?
Act 7 Chair
A tree branch, reaching outward like an arm, is paired with a wooden chair abandoned against a wall. The natural and manmade forms suggest a shared gesture of connection, while their weathered appearances hint at stories of use, decay, and resilience.
Act 8 Luggage
One photograph captures passengers climbing the stairs to board a plane in black and white, emphasizing motion and departure. The second image shows colorful luggage stacked at the back of a moving ferry, evidenced by the waves. The absence of luggage in the first and the absence of people in the second form a subtle exchange: are the bags now stand-ins for their owners? Does the lack of human presence transform the meaning of the image, or are we left to project our narratives onto these objects that suggest movement, memory, and transition?
Act 9 Seaweed
The seaweed pair examines a deeper duality: Saragossa seaweed, proliferating unnaturally due to human interference, engulfs the shoreline—a stark reminder of ecological imbalance. The other image depicts workers painstakingly removing this invasive seaweed by hand, their actions dwarfed by the magnitude of the issue. This effort, though symbolic, underscores humanity’s contradictory role as both the cause of and the response to environmental disruption. The imagery questions the long-term consequences of intervention, the futility of repair, and whether such cycles reflect a deeper struggle between nature and human impact.
Act 10 Bench
A park bench, designed as an unbroken communal form, is split in half. Does its essence persist when divided? Can a fragmented object still embody its original purpose?
