Turn Your Head Sideways and Nature Will Troll You
In the photograph above, the brush in the foreground frames a view across a pond, with the brush in the distance reflected in the pond’s still water. The sky is cloudy, but bright, and there is no rain to be causing ripples in the pond, which results in a near perfect reflection of the bright, cloudy sky. Of course, the brush is also reflected almost perfectly. This includes the reflection of a semicircular bridge, creating the impression of a hole in the very center of the scene.
But turn your head sideways, and nature fucks with you. In the photograph below, the face of a crazy green bird chieftain (with a purple headpiece, from which hangs a silver medallion) appears to be facing us.
It’s unclear whether or not the bird chieftain’s eyes are open or closed, whether it’s watching or resting, opening its mouth to eat us or to breathe. That doesn’t matter. What’s clear is that this is no longer a pond, with some shrubbery around it, reflected in various places. No. This is something completely new. This is a singular, autonomous entity. We have made eye contact with it. It had been waiting. Those illusory eyes say: You have found me; Here, I am; I have been waiting for you; You have dared to turn your head sideways; This is your reward, this acknowledgment of your glance, this glimpse at one another.
HANK FELSMAN
Contributor
