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"Τί καινὸν εἴη τεθεαμένος; Γέροντα τύραννον."
-Ancient Greek saying attributed to the philosopher Thales and translates as “What is the strangest thing to see? An aged Tyrant.”
Made me think of Syria. There must be a hidden irony somewhere given that Thales is also the name of a multinational group that “designs and builds electrical systems and provides services for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security markets.” Elegant phrasing, isn’t it - with the right wording anything can be made to sound boring, pleasant or inoffensive.
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Question As Sharp As Cutlery
- Him: So, why is a woman like you not married?
- Me: (laughs)
- Him: No, really... you're a catch-
- Me: (laughs harder)
- Him: -intelligent, beautiful-
- Me: (still laughing) I'm divorced!
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High ResolutionBlue Occupied Blue, 2012
Agfa CT Precisa 100 on Nikon FG, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
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A deep blue sea, a clear blue sky, a ghostly shore in the distance. No clouds up above, no ripples on the surface. What could be more serene?
This is the Dead Sea, and across the still body of water is Israel or Occupied Palestine, depending on your perspective.
Some months after I took this photograph, my friend who I was traveling with at the time, was in Gaza during an aerial and ground assault carried out by the Israeli military. She escaped unhurt, at least physically. She is a humanitarian aid worker and when listening to her speak of her work, I wonder where she finds the inner strength to cope with it all.
I met a young man who served his compulsory three years service in the Israeli military. He spent two of those years patrolling Gaza. He has a scar on the back of his head caused by a piece of shrapnel. It had healed well and I only noticed it when I ran my fingers through his hair. I asked him why he had taken off his helmet. He said, “It gets hot. We get complacent. Then something happens that reminds us…”
—Sera Marshall
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High ResolutionI’m not much good at portraits. I don’t want to keep the person in front of the lens waiting for any longer than necessary. I feel uncomfortable, that I am somehow objectifying them the longer I keep them waiting, the more I persist in getting a “better shot”. So usually, in my awkwardness but eagerness to have a picture, I only manage one frame.
And here is one. We never exchanged names.
She invited me into her home, so that I could take photographs of the ramshackle courtyard with the traditional stone work. The old house was divided up by three families. She wanted desperately to move out, and spoke of how it was not possible to use the courtyard for cooking or washing carpets or enjoying tea, as her neighbours had no neighbourly feeling. But the influx of Syrians had increased rents beyond any affordable measure for her. He husband worked in construction and was away in Erbil for two or three months at a time. Her eldest son was unemployed, her elderly mother’s health was ailing. She insistently offered me breakfast; I only accepted tea.When I asked if I may take her photograph, she was surprised and a little embarrassed: “A photo? Of me? Looking like this?”
I think she looks beautiful.
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This weekend, Kalopsia went down to Norwich for Turn the Page artist book fair, to show the lastest addition of our traveling book collection ‘Octavo Fika’. It was an amazing fair featuring work by book artists from around the world and we are so pleased to have been apart of it.
My books were there! Woohoo!
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I moved towards the taxi.
“Perhaps we should walk?” He said
“Do you want to talk?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t mind the walk although it was chilly. He is interesting and worthwhile to listen to. Yet I wondered why is it that we always make others articulate our desires.
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"Come back! Don’t run away…"
- The two gentlemen murmured to me as I rushed past them in the lobby late one summer evening in London. -
I have a working title for this project now, ‘The Blossoming’. It’s been fun to make: picking and pressing flowers, pouring ink here and there. And there will be more to come!
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The problem with loss of appetite is that I forget that others need sustenance, even if I don’t.
I sat down at my desk to see the jumping spider, perched on one of the now dead thyme sprigs, glaring at me with his four eyes as if to say: “Well, would you take a look at this. Are these acceptable living conditions? Have you seen the number of wilted African violets? And all these leaves that have turned brown from thirst! This is simply appalling.”I watered all my plants, and apologised profusely in the process. We’ll see if I get any more flowers.
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"A woman, unless she is an idiot, sooner or later meets a piece of human wreckage and tries to rescue him. She sometimes succeeds. But a woman, unless she is an idiot, sooner or later finds a sane, healthy man and makes a wreck of him. She always succeeds."
- Cesare Pavese -
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High Resolution“INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE, monthly magazine, devoted to literature and art, prints the best works of Soviet and foreign progressive writers and articles by prominent war correspondents, showing the Soviet Army in action. The magazine gives a rounded picture of the latest events in the world of Soviet art — new stage productions, films, art exhibitions.”
I found this in a dilapidated bookshop. I have not had time to read it properly. After the title page is a portrait of Lenin, then a portrait of Stalin. The writing style is partisan, verging on the poetic. There are caricatures of Hitler gnawing on human bones and an essay titled “The Traditions of German Vandalism”. As well as an essay on the composer John Field who died in Moscow in 1837.
The back cover lists bookshops in 16 different countries where it was possible to purchase a copy. A one year subscription to Turkey only cost 4 TL.
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"Happiness is unrepentant pleasure."
- Socrates
If There Was Any Doubt
