Buddha Reflections | Mark Lindsay
Reflections are elusive. They seem one step removed from reality. Yet, for the quiet observer, they hold many secrets to truth. A reflection always seems fluid, never concrete. Planes of reality merge and disappear. Everything seems real but we cannot grasp at anything. It is all an illusion.
Reflections distort things based upon the characteristics of the reflective material. When we perceive reality we are just like these surfaces. We bend, exaggerate, and twist everything we see. Yet, we are so attached to our perspectives we often fail to see our own distortions. Like a gazing ball, we distort the view in our garden.
Are reflections less real than reality? Or are they reminders that reality is nothing more than the reflections of our psyche? Photography is marvelous at giving us a unique perspective on all this. Like reflections, photos are simply another plane of perspective. So, photos of reflections are, perhaps, two steps removed from the normal plane of perception.
I've been photographing reflections for years. I've filed the photos away as self-indulgent activity, not worthy of exhibition. But, this past week I unveiled three reflection photos as part of a new show at the Red Door Gallery & Collective in Oakland. To my joy, others find reflections as fascinating as do I.