Eternal is a word which creates paradoxes. It portrays a strong connection with infinity, and at the borders of infinity, science and spirituality unite. I am pondering over this, because Tomas decided to share his photo with me. Tomas was a participant in my photography workshop at Vilnius, in November 2018.
In my workshops, I discuss a lot the role of subconscious in photography. As Christer Strömholm said “Every photograph is a self-portrait” I believe it indeed is. When I try to pass on my knowledge and perspectives on photography, I do emphasize on this finding oneself in one’s own imagery philosophy. And, Tomas somehow noticed a hint of spirituality in that. Although, I believe he is far more spiritual than me.
A few days back, he sent a message on Facebook, “I would like to share this photo with you” with a black and white photograph of a kitchen. To me, it was an interesting image, because I liked how he used shapes and light, something we discussed in workshop. The curves and lines are working together, and the light works as a tool to connect the viewer with the kitchen. Whose kitchen, we don’t know. Even I didn’t know it was Tomas’s kitchen, until I asked him.
I was happy to see that our discussions were evident in the image. And, I was snobbishly a little bit proud, as a teacher might be, when his pupil performs well (Which is not at all spiritual). But, since the day I saw Tomas’s photographs in workshop, I knew he is a good photographer, so my snob phase faded away quickly. But as it faded away, curiosity kicked in, and I wondered why he wanted to share this particular photo with me? So, I asked him.
Tomas’s Kitchen (The name of the brand on medicine box, is removed on Tomas’s request) © Tomas Milevičius
His response made me look at the image, with a totally different perspective. He said “I like the objects in the photo, which represent various periods of history. The gas equipment is from Soviet era, the espresso boiler symbolizes Italian influence in recent decades. The medicines show that sickness is part of life time. The general topic which interests me is time. And, in this picture, time or passing time, is present. And ultimately, light. Light does not change with time, so it provides a safe connection to the past, to the future, and to the end of time, to eternity. Light is a symbol and feature of eternity.”
After reading this, when I returned to the image, I saw it with a different eye. Before, my thoughts as a teacher clouded my vision. And, my cultural background filtered my emotions to the image. Coffee has never been part of my cultural imprints, so for me the boiler was just an object. And, light has always been a tool to be used in photography. But, today I learned from Tomas, that light is not just a tool, but a symbol itself, in fact, an eternal one. And, I am grateful to Tomas for teaching me that.