With this project, I set out to provide a set of images to reflect a sampling of the “human condition”. This is how the name “specimen slides” came to be.
There are various definitions of the “human condition”, from psychology to religion to philosophy, and it is discussed in many forums, including literature and art. For my project, I see it as a term that describes the characteristics of human existence, including experience and behaviour.
Life needs water to exist, so I headed to the beach and photographed rocks at low tide. These rocks are either submerged at high tide or subject to waves crashing over them. Some have “lakes” of water remaining as the tide has receded.
When I processed these images, they reminded me of aspects of the human condition, mainly positively. I saw pictures of healing, hope, support and freedom. This reflects that I tend to be a “glass half full” sort of person. My hope is when you view these images, you might see some of the positive aspects I saw too. However, I would not be surprised if you saw something different, and that’s okay too.
