If There Was Any Doubt

"Τί καινὸν εἴη τεθεαμένος; Γέροντα τύραννον."

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:00:49 +0300

“Τί καινὸν εἴη τεθεαμένος; Γέροντα τύραννον.” - Ancient Greek saying attributed to the...

Question As Sharp As Cutlery

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:02:48 +0300

Him: So, why is a woman like you not married? Me: (laughs) Him: No, really... you're a catch- Me:...

Photo

Sat, 11 May 2013 21:01:07 +0300

coolgirlsshootfilm: Blue Occupied Blue, 2012 Agfa CT Precisa...

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:02:27 +0300

coolgirlsshootfilm:

Blue Occupied Blue, 2012

Agfa CT Precisa 100 on Nikon FG, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

____

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

Click here to find out how you too can share your photos and story with CGSF!!

I’m not much good at portraits. I don’t want to keep...

Fri, 10 May 2013 21:00:57 +0300

I’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.

Photo

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:01:11 +0300

kalopsiacollective: This weekend, Kalopsia went down to Norwich...

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:49:26 +0300

kalopsiacollective:

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!

I moved towards the taxi. “Perhaps we should walk?” He said “Do you want to...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:58:00 +0300

I moved towards the taxi. “Perhaps we should walk?” He said “Do you want to...

"Come back! Don’t run away…"

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:10:38 +0300

“Come back! Don’t run away…” - The two gentlemen murmured to me as I rushed...

I have a working title for this project now, ‘The...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:00:50 +0300

The Blossoming #4

Blossoming #4 (Detail)

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!

The problem with loss of appetite is that I forget that others need sustenance, even if I...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:00:54 +0300

The problem with loss of appetite is that I forget that others need sustenance, even if I...

"A woman, unless she is an idiot, sooner or later meets a piece of human wreckage and tries to rescue..."

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:01:08 +0300

“A woman, unless she is an idiot, sooner or later meets a piece of human wreckage and tries to...

Photo

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:01:05 +0300

“INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE, monthly magazine, devoted to...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:01:03 +0300

“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.

"Happiness is unrepentant pleasure."

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:01:03 +0300

“Happiness is unrepentant pleasure.” - Socrates

"Hope is not a method but it’s all I can think of."

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:01:13 +0300

“Hope is not a method but it’s all I can think of.” - The Colonel, during a morning...

I submitted two of my book works to be part of the Kalopsia...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:21 +0300

I submitted two of my book works to be part of the Kalopsia Collective exhibition, Octavo Fika. You’ll be able to see the works at the Turn The Page book fair, which will be held on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 May. It’s free entry and visiting hours are 10 am - 6 pm.

kalopsiacollective:

New arrival for Octavo Fika!
2 books by S. A. Marshall.
Come down to the International book festival “Turn the Page” in Norwich to see them!

"The doctor sits me on a table and asks me to stick out my tongue. I do. I ask him if he sees the..."

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:15:00 +0300

“The doctor sits me on a table and asks me to stick out my tongue. I do. I ask him if he sees...

"A wink is the same as a nod to a blind man."

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:55:23 +0300

“A wink is the same as a nod to a blind man.” - Raymond Carver, “Cathedral” (via...

Another nightmare. Again about betrayal. It has been four months...

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:08:12 +0300

Another nightmare. Again about betrayal. It has been four months of this, and I don’t know when my dreams going to come back.

I don’t want to write down my nightmares. I am not sure how to describe this acute sense of betrayal in words. I don’t think it is a skill I want to learn. I don’t want to be able to go back and read over it. Where pens fail, cameras come in. So here is a self-portrait. I took several in quick succession with the timer. I’m caught here, mid-rubbing my face. I have not felt this vulnerable in a long time.