This project is a Eulogy to the contemplation of Nature.
Nine images that immortalize, in an explosion of colors, the existential apex of nine flowers during the day of the Spring Equinox, March 20, 2021.
I chose to take the photographs on this date as the equinox has an important symbolic meaning: on this day the male and female are in total balance, thus giving the human being the maximum possibility to transcend their limits. It is considered a day free from prejudices, which essentially arise in our mind when we are too identified with something. On this day we bring balance, so as not to be identified with anything, but with the only desire to abandon ourselves to contemplate.
We need nature to show us the way out of the prison of conceptual thinking. By observing a flower we can feel its stillness and, in doing so, the same stillness arises within us. Unlike humans, plants and animals did not split in two. They do not live through mental images of themselves and thus need not worry about trying to protect and reinforce those images. By focusing awareness on the sounds of nature, we immerse ourselves completely in listening, perceiving a sacredness that cannot be understood by thought.
An intelligence greater than the human mind is activated. It is the same intelligence that sustains everything in nature. The way to get as close to this intelligence as possible is to be aware of your inner field, feeling its vitality. Nature exists in the stillness that exists before the arising of thought. The flower is unaware of its own beauty and sacredness because it has no thoughts. This project, therefore, wants to be an invitation to this, to begin to perceive what is sacred around us, putting our thinking on the sidelines for once.
Calicantus
Camellia-Alba-Plena
Narcissus
Camellia
Edgeworthia-chrysantha
Forsythia
Ranunculus
Rosea-Camellia
Sedum
About Erika Zolli
Erika Zolli is a photographer specialized in Fine Art and she has always been attracted to the potentiality of photography to lead the observer into a world of surreal poetry. New worlds and new realities are created in her photos to show and explore the invisible dreamlike dimension that resides in the human mind. Born as a self-taught photographer currently living and working in Milan. She holds workshops of creative photography in Italy and Spain.
Her works have been mentioned in various magazines and newspapers including: Fotografia Reflex, Il Fotografo, L’Espresso, L’OEil de la Photographyie, La Repubblica, ANSA, Creatace (VICE), Art Parasites, Urban Contest, Click Blog , Bored Panda etc.
She exhibited in 2016 for the Milan Photo Festival with the “Surreal Arabesque” exhibition at Palazzo Castiglioni, in 2016 at the Theater of Spoleto, In 2017 she exhibited at the Paratissima Art Fair in Turin, at Seravezza Festival with the exhibition “Sur / Real “and in November 2017 she will exhibit in Paris with IMAGENATION.
She won the first prize of the “My City” competition organized by the European Environment Agency and the first prize of the t2gE conference on Green Economy in 2017.
You can find Erika Zolli on the Web :
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted Erika Zolli. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
