Living in the Bardo
Many of the pictures I make begin as an elegy, a conversation about the ephemeral nature of our existence and the fragility of the people and things around us. They are a window into my experience of suffering multiple personal losses over a very short period of time. In prolonged grief I came to appreciate what it means to die while we are still alive. There is no letting go of grief, we can only hope to walk with it. I learned what my life was truly made of when I surrendered the illusion of control that I thought I had. Living in the bardo is how I think of it, the untethered place Buddhists describe as the intermediate state caused by traumatic ruptures in our everyday existence. In these pictures, I wanted to capture the quiet and melancholy that I felt, the loud silence that opened when I lost my old reality. I was fortunate to create these pictures with an artist who was able to capture the sense of displacement I was feeling and my need to slowly improvise a new life. I also wanted to express the regenerative nature of our lives, and the art and beauty that can spring forth from tragedy, humility, and appreciation.
Barbara Lewin
www.barbaralewinphotography.com
IG: @barbaralewinphotographynyc
