Unfettered (Diane Faris Gallery show)
Photos: Grace Gordon-Collins
Fantasy plays a vital role in the major traditions. It is not a realm of daydreams but of creation, a place where the impossible becomes possible. In Islam it is the midnight sun, a symbol combining opposites, representing pure potential. In Christianity, before our eyes are created the body and blood of Christ. In Judaism, in Genesis, the words of creation are ‘Let there be...’. In Hinduism, the world is Vishnu’s dream. For Buddhists, life is an illusion. Sikhs aspire to play the role of a lion or princess. Natives of all lands look to spirits and ancestors to sustain their world.
Thus fantasy is a spiritual tool. It is a part of our being that exists in the unreal. Whether our world view is more spiritual or rational, it is the unreal that is the real driver of life. In these images the unreal world of dreams and beliefs, underlain by shadows and fears, reveals to us that we are not entirely who we think we have become. Beyond the cage of polite social norms and self imposed limitations, we are in truth a different person. Not only the one that we have allowed others to allow ourselves to be!
Reality and fantasy are seen as opposites, but even yin and yang are vital parts of the Taijitu symbol – a greater whole. We often live only half our life – what we deem real – and by rejecting the unreal, do our utmost to restrain our personal fulfilment. The original meaning of ‘fantasy’ was that of delusive imagination or baseless supposition; in short, a phantom – hence its alternative spelling of ‘phantasy’. This came to mean a changing mood, and its modern usage is of an imaginative yearning. If being is becoming, then fantasy is recognition of self.
What are this artist’s fantasies, I wonder? She already inhabits three fantasy realms – urban chic, rustic charm and lonely wilderness. Maybe her fantasy is driven by being an architect, building the beautiful ‘architecture’ of her own life. In her previous photographic series, ‘Pulp’, she re-lived her history through the avatar of her daughter. Maybe Grace is driven by the example of her mother, who lost everything in the Great Depression and survived by training wild and damaged horses, dreaming of greater things. And as this stalwart lady’s memory declines, the idea of her granddaughter living out her daughter’s life is more poignant still.
The exhibition title ‘Unfiltered’ suggests rawness. I also feel it could be ‘Unfettered’, as her images free their subjects from social or psychological chains. The women look handsome before and after their transformations. This is a tribute to both subject and photographer. It shows they are comfortable in both situations.
From the images in this book, who can say what is real and unreal? Is it the busy mother, solid and reliable, or the graceful dancer, moving with the rhythms of the universe? Is it the faithful wife, the moon to her husband’s sun, or the rugged cowgirl, leader and protector of her flock? Is it the modern singleton, driving her fabulous career, or the feisty biker, racing her heavenly chariot on wheels of desire and will?
These archetypes are both realities and fantasies. The answer depends on the position of the viewer. The bank where we now stand is reality, and the far shore is fantasy. All that remains is to cross the river. It is this brave motion that is key. The direct experience of our other self is vital. It is a two-way adventure of recognition – each acknowledging the opposite shore. Encountering the fantastic will feel very natural to our sense of self. We may or not be whom we expected. It will be a point of departure, an adventure into ourself.
The Taijitu represents the dramatic interplay of opposing forces, containing both the usual and unusual, real and unreal. This is the place of ultimate transformation, where Viviane becomes dancer, Jill becomes wrestler, and Charlene becomes bride. But if they only had these roles that would be unbalanced, as untenable as their current half-denied personae. They become both their reality and their fantasy. Through imagination they have entered into contact with the unreal - and if they hold their nerve, their experience will be absolutely real.
In Genesis, evil tempts us in the form of a snake, a creature of magical qualities. It is a creature of two worlds, beneath the earth and also upon it; a snake is reborn by sloughing its skin; by leading Adam and Eve to the forbidden apple, it also leads them to knowledge. It is these human possibilities – adaptability, reinvention & awareness – that cause rulers to fear. It is these qualities that enable personal choice and liberation, that allow a woman to transcend an ordained role of girl, woman, wife, mother, widow or spinster, into her greater self. In this true self, the abstract has been captured, intensified and - with self-belief - concretized.
It is said that people come into our lives for a day, a reason or a season. Are these fantastic characters transients, partners or soulmates? The properties of the cosmic tree are those of connection, expansion and ascension. Is this what these fantasies represent? In the labyrinth of fantastic re-creation, who will we find at its centre – a monster or a god? ‘The immediate is the ultimate’ says Indian mystic Osho, meaning that whatever exists now is true. Dressed up as their fantasy, who is now true?
And hey, what about us men? Don’t forget our fantasies! As unrealised global messiah, I have ordered my cardboard halo in hope of Grace’s next shoot. I also wonder what the fantasies of these fantasy characters would be. Would the biker, fed up of getting pushed off the road, wish to be a transcontinental trucker, its undisputed king? Would the exotic dancer, tired of grinding to awful music, wish to be a baroque composer and create brighter tunes? Would the wrestler, with bruised muscles and bloody bones, wish instead to be a botanist, and give up pressing bodies for pressing flowers?
Fantasy is also about spontaneity and fun. And what fun we could have with - according to Yogi Bhajan – the sixteen to twenty personalities alive within each of us! We could be pilot, doctor, climber, barrel racer, opera singer, prison warder, warrior princess, movie starlet, firewoman, rabbi, Athena, Guinevere, Cleopatra, flamenco dancer, ice pixie and mermaid. The images bestowed here suggest untold possibility. A singular fantasy is merely a stepping stone, just one of many facets of our total fantastic being.
Fantasy plays a vital role in the major traditions. It is not a realm of daydreams but of creation, a place where the impossible becomes possible. In Islam it is the midnight sun, a symbol combining opposites, representing pure potential. In Christianity, before our eyes are created the body and blood of Christ. In Judaism, in Genesis, the words of creation are ‘Let there be...’. In Hinduism, the world is Vishnu’s dream. For Buddhists, life is an illusion. Sikhs aspire to play the role of a lion or princess. Natives of all lands look to spirits and ancestors to sustain their world.
Thus fantasy is a spiritual tool. It is a part of our being that exists in the unreal. Whether our world view is more spiritual or rational, it is the unreal that is the real driver of life. In these images the unreal world of dreams and beliefs, underlain by shadows and fears, reveals to us that we are not entirely who we think we have become. Beyond the cage of polite social norms and self imposed limitations, we are in truth a different person. Not only the one that we have allowed others to allow ourselves to be!
Reality and fantasy are seen as opposites, but even yin and yang are vital parts of the Taijitu symbol – a greater whole. We often live only half our life – what we deem real – and by rejecting the unreal, do our utmost to restrain our personal fulfilment. The original meaning of ‘fantasy’ was that of delusive imagination or baseless supposition; in short, a phantom – hence its alternative spelling of ‘phantasy’. This came to mean a changing mood, and its modern usage is of an imaginative yearning. If being is becoming, then fantasy is recognition of self.
What are this artist’s fantasies, I wonder? She already inhabits three fantasy realms – urban chic, rustic charm and lonely wilderness. Maybe her fantasy is driven by being an architect, building the beautiful ‘architecture’ of her own life. In her previous photographic series, ‘Pulp’, she re-lived her history through the avatar of her daughter. Maybe Grace is driven by the example of her mother, who lost everything in the Great Depression and survived by training wild and damaged horses, dreaming of greater things. And as this stalwart lady’s memory declines, the idea of her granddaughter living out her daughter’s life is more poignant still.
The exhibition title ‘Unfiltered’ suggests rawness. I also feel it could be ‘Unfettered’, as her images free their subjects from social or psychological chains. The women look handsome before and after their transformations. This is a tribute to both subject and photographer. It shows they are comfortable in both situations.
From the images in this book, who can say what is real and unreal? Is it the busy mother, solid and reliable, or the graceful dancer, moving with the rhythms of the universe? Is it the faithful wife, the moon to her husband’s sun, or the rugged cowgirl, leader and protector of her flock? Is it the modern singleton, driving her fabulous career, or the feisty biker, racing her heavenly chariot on wheels of desire and will?
These archetypes are both realities and fantasies. The answer depends on the position of the viewer. The bank where we now stand is reality, and the far shore is fantasy. All that remains is to cross the river. It is this brave motion that is key. The direct experience of our other self is vital. It is a two-way adventure of recognition – each acknowledging the opposite shore. Encountering the fantastic will feel very natural to our sense of self. We may or not be whom we expected. It will be a point of departure, an adventure into ourself.
The Taijitu represents the dramatic interplay of opposing forces, containing both the usual and unusual, real and unreal. This is the place of ultimate transformation, where Viviane becomes dancer, Jill becomes wrestler, and Charlene becomes bride. But if they only had these roles that would be unbalanced, as untenable as their current half-denied personae. They become both their reality and their fantasy. Through imagination they have entered into contact with the unreal - and if they hold their nerve, their experience will be absolutely real.
In Genesis, evil tempts us in the form of a snake, a creature of magical qualities. It is a creature of two worlds, beneath the earth and also upon it; a snake is reborn by sloughing its skin; by leading Adam and Eve to the forbidden apple, it also leads them to knowledge. It is these human possibilities – adaptability, reinvention & awareness – that cause rulers to fear. It is these qualities that enable personal choice and liberation, that allow a woman to transcend an ordained role of girl, woman, wife, mother, widow or spinster, into her greater self. In this true self, the abstract has been captured, intensified and - with self-belief - concretized.
It is said that people come into our lives for a day, a reason or a season. Are these fantastic characters transients, partners or soulmates? The properties of the cosmic tree are those of connection, expansion and ascension. Is this what these fantasies represent? In the labyrinth of fantastic re-creation, who will we find at its centre – a monster or a god? ‘The immediate is the ultimate’ says Indian mystic Osho, meaning that whatever exists now is true. Dressed up as their fantasy, who is now true?
And hey, what about us men? Don’t forget our fantasies! As unrealised global messiah, I have ordered my cardboard halo in hope of Grace’s next shoot. I also wonder what the fantasies of these fantasy characters would be. Would the biker, fed up of getting pushed off the road, wish to be a transcontinental trucker, its undisputed king? Would the exotic dancer, tired of grinding to awful music, wish to be a baroque composer and create brighter tunes? Would the wrestler, with bruised muscles and bloody bones, wish instead to be a botanist, and give up pressing bodies for pressing flowers?
Fantasy is also about spontaneity and fun. And what fun we could have with - according to Yogi Bhajan – the sixteen to twenty personalities alive within each of us! We could be pilot, doctor, climber, barrel racer, opera singer, prison warder, warrior princess, movie starlet, firewoman, rabbi, Athena, Guinevere, Cleopatra, flamenco dancer, ice pixie and mermaid. The images bestowed here suggest untold possibility. A singular fantasy is merely a stepping stone, just one of many facets of our total fantastic being.
