Stills (2008–2022) is an unpublished book & exhibition project which reflects my concern for the predicament which we find ourselves in, both as individuals and as a society. Destruction of the biosphere, mass extinction of species, human impact on climate, nuclear proliferation, the erosion of democratic structures through corporate lobbying are all compounded by a media which censors alternative voices and simplifies and fractures these issues.
It seems that as individuals, even if we are conscious of these existential threats, we are powerless to instigate the innovation that would effect real change on a global level. This transition has to come from power structures that seem to have been coerced by economic forces, which are driven by short term profit rather than sustainability.
Although Stills deals with these far-reaching problems, it does not attempt to exhort a message or patronise. The pictures themselves are lysergically tinged glimpses of our perceived “reality”, from troglodyte dwellings to stunning buildings by “starchitects”, from natural forces to telecommunications, from leisure activities to highly professional work environments. However, the underlying theme and the recurrent pictures, are symbols of power, the barriers that it creates and the inevitability of its demise.
Despite these challenges we do have a path towards freedom whereby we are no longer overwhelmed by the predicaments that surround us. By descending into still-ness we can see through the limiting definitions of “reality”. This stilling of the thoughts, sensations and feelings which are constantly turning in one direction, then another, is the source of the most profound happiness and wisdom.
