Passage of Time

Monika Drabot’s interest in photography has led her to a fascination with exploring light and how the action of controlling it can cause abstracts to become reality; to create new worlds and alter the perceptions of what we see in the finished print, vs what was originally photographed. With this exhibition the intention is to immerse people beyond what the camera can capture and portray. Viewers can interact and connect with the parts familiar to them, and activate the artwork by creating experiences in the space and being a part of it. To move beyond the 2D print to installation work that involves the viewer in a physical way and not just as a passive observer. Passage of Time encourages us to take a moment to reflect and engage with pieces that mirror the stages of life and inspire some of that sense of wonder we so often lose as we grow.  Monika would like to thank Vikki Gray for taking the time to help her through the process of curating the exhibition and lending her writing skills to communicate the project. Thank you to Marcel Lenormand for the technical expertise to create the light installation. Many Thanks to Guernsey Arts and Guernsey Arts Foundation for sponsoring the exhibition. 

Developing Thoughts

Abstract and colourful, this piece focuses on the first stage of life where you cannot really comprehend what is around you – using the camera lens to reduce images to vague shapes and orbs of light with a focus on movement and travelling from one space to another. These circles of light are like balls of energy; natural elements and people all merging and passing each other in continuous loop.

Childhood

Simple wooden shapes showcase childhood and the ability to use imagination and create with freedom. Each viewer has the same pieces to create their own design or choose to build or alter images that are already started – we are all born with the same potential and people change and influence each other as they develop and connect with others to form patterns in their lives. 

Actions

Memory 

The Road Walked

Finding that connection in life – the shoes gathered like a crowd or a community – a group of familiar strangers. The white colour brings uniformity and anonymity, bringing out the features and wear and tear without pattern or colour in the way. You become part of the crowd as your shadow falls across the shoes and interacts with their space. 

Reflection

The beginning, middle and end of the day – serene but almost eerily calm images that play on our instinctual connection with the light, water and air that life ultimately comes from. The mirrored sections reflect you and the other life stages in the room as the elongated images act like doorways, drawing you peacefully in to the light.

Circle of Life

One hundred discs signifying one hundred years of human life. Each section is a significant piece of a single life; merging together to form the bright halo of the soul as it comes full cycle. The light travels around the circle in a path of renewal as one life ends and another begins.

The Passage of Time

By Aeva Joy Magdelena Love 

“Time flies, when you’re having fun”, they say,

True, but an incomplete Truth;

it flies when you’re not having fun too,

just not as fast

and sometimes

it stands still

for a while.

There are moments we carry

in bubbles of Light

Through years of days and thousands of nights

And although it’s ‘ago’

and the world has moved on

Still exist, bright alive

in the here and the

now

in our hearts and our minds

and the Sun always shines

on the memories of our Soul.

Yellow scented roses I planted seven years ago

have climbed high and the cottage door is framed with

sweet golden blooms.

And I remember,

Then, and now

Before, and after

Time doesn’t heal all wounds

Be still, my heart

For in the unbroken stillness

you shall find a glimpse of the Eternity

And in the silence of the timelessness

Live, in the forever moment

Free from all chains

Love,

do you remember the

glory and delight

of a slide, the

freedom of a swing

Magic of Christmas,

The dream of Life from within?

Later, things happened.

A tsunami fundraiser on my 21st

Life, adulthood,

punctuated by numbers

recording the procession

of years

and bubbles of significance

that never burst

but float in our consciousness

Ten years,

since

Seven years ago,

Two years ago…

No more tears

I’m gonna live to 100 so

I’m not even half-way through

yet.