Revisiting

Caught off guard the other day. Reminded of always being on guard. Memories absorbed into my every tissue. Requiring attention and care to release. Again and again and again.

“We are constantly saturated with experiences that influence our perceptions and alter our mental states. Our senses are always cross-talking to create unique impressions and feelings about our world. And because the arts, by their very nature, are strong sensory inputs that engage multiple systems, they are uniquely capable of accessing interconnected neural pathways that allow us to process emotions, name and express our feelings, and even work on accessing the unconscious psyche.” – Magsamen and Ross, Your Brain on Art

Revisiting an idea for an image I thought missed the mark before, that seems to fit just right now. Revisiting a familiar visual theme. Revisiting images that have already been used for different projects. Here are the original images used.

Revisiting, as in the nature of the healing process. It is not linear. It unfolds through returning again and again to something. Each time with a slightly shifted perspective, with new eyes.

I sent my image to Insight, and received these AI generated images back. I see these as another set of eyes, a way to consider slightly different perspectives of the same idea.

I notice a lot of similarities in emotional tone. But this time it’s the difference that makes a difference. I notice distance. The subject is just slightly farther away in these images than in my original.

There is no right or wrong interpretation. Only what stands out as significant to you and what meaning you make of that. The distance I notice this time around is meaningful in that it matches my experience of feeling a little more distance from this emotional experience. This is healing. This makes me smile.

“Through art I was able to bring grace into my life. I took the things that were most bothersome and made them the subject matter of art. The toxin became the antitoxin, the medicine of art.” -Shaun McNiff, Art as Medicine