Two

While the Mortal Muses theme was ‘Two’, I kept seeing pairs of things everywhere when I was out shooting. No big surprise really; when you stop to think about it, the notion of two, a pair, is a very basic concept of human thinking.

First, there are the equal pairs. Partners. Friends. Twin siblings. My own two hands and my own two feet.

Or, like in my images, two pairs of hearts left behind for the victims of the Oslo terror attacks on July 22nd.

Second, and perhaps more interestingly – the opposite pairs. Male and female. Hot and cold. Old and young. Tied in with this is the notion of the liminal that I find so fascinating, the between state – when there are two polar opposites, there is usually also something between them. The doorstep between the safe indoors and the scary outside. The horizon where the sea and the sky meet and merge. Middle age.

I shot and put together the following two images during the week after the terror attacks, when the sadness they express was further augmented by the contrast between the child-like balloon and the dying rose.

And then one final image, of another equal pair – two angels on my windowsill to remind me of hope.

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