The collective story is made up of the individual ones – this seems to be a very straightforward and simple statement. The problem is, the individual stories are not always known as complete truths, for various reasons, and yet this does not automatically erase them from the societal fabric. In fact, trying to erase them rarely succeeds, because the story manifests itself in physical reality as the underlayer of any culture, creating a variety of forms like social movements, events and even conflicts. Contrary to what it appears, it is not always for the reasons stated in the official manifesto.

Photography or film as an art form is reflective by nature. It is already a 'story about others' while discovering the self. Whatever lens you used, whatever filters, apertures, multiple exposures or other altering techniques - it is all traceable from the image itself. You can unpick a photograph mathematically, and yet, it can communicate more than what is explained. It can trigger the audience with the form, shape and symbol, just like a painting would. The math in the photograph, however, is like the ‘holding story’ – the official narrative that is adopted by an individual, a group, or a country. A compassionate human mind is capable of deducting the maths and receiving this other truth – subjective, emotional, experiential.

The collective stories, which we do not fully know, can be woven as traces of threads found in other people, places, and cultures. In a shared humanity, there are shared fragments to be collected and made into a mosaic piece, and it is almost impossible to tell the whole story without those loose pieces from other people. The story, be it your own experiences or those of your ancestors, the chances are, some parts of it are simply numbed out to ensure your basic survival. Witnessing, when done with a focused attention and non-judgement, is an act of reading the whole, even the hidden information.

As an 'experimentation-driven' photographer, I am researching the unframed structures in order to help visualise and incorporate them into the healthier whole. I create temporary structures, a bit like those prehistoric shelters you had to move or casts on broken arms.

No matter how health-focused the society is, unfortunately, you can't run yourself into a 'single culture' shape, nor can you build strength purely by lifting heavy burdens you were gifted at birth and over the course of your life. It is more likely that they will smash you one day, as they have a tendency to grow with you, becoming heavier and heavier. You can’t just put them down easily - they are part of your body, almost, they are part of You. Without them - who will you be?! How will you identify? 

The biggest wisdom I have now learned is that the burdens are wrapped gifts, and you do not know that until you dare to put them down and unwrap them. Some take a very long time to do this, and yet, it is worth it. Those papers you don't really need to burn... every page is a layer you took off something, not projectively, but retrospectively. And yet, it was both the future and the past that were being unwrapped. 

The most precious (and burdensome!) gift of all is, of course, the gift of life itself.