Time is marked by a garden as the seasons change; the fragility and ephemerality of blossoms are a metaphor for the brevity of life.
The garden is a sensuous place.
I look for passing moments of light, color, and weather coming together in a garden. It can be a place of respite, contemplation, wonder, a reminder of hope and revival. As the gardener tends it, the garden returns and revives. These photographs are tales from the sublime – places to seek beauty, fragrance, weather drama, peace, nourishment for the soul, and mystery.
This photo series was made with a plastic Diana camera, which I’ve been photographing with for many years. I’m intrigued by how the plastic lens interprets light: with luminescent color and soft glare. Emerging out of a vignetted darkness, the image radiates from the center of the picture. It’s a pleasant surprise to look at the negatives after they return from the film-processing lab. The unique soft focus quality of the camera lends a surreal, ephemeral, and dreamlike quality to the pictures.
Mary Kocol is represented by Gallery NAGA, Boston since 1993.
http://marykocol.com
