Observing Life From The Edge Of A Cliff

Photographer Fábio Miguel Roque is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the book/project ‘ I found fireflies in my dream, talking to a strange, drunk and dead man’. To see Fábio’s body of work, click on any photograph.

In 2016, I published my “Fireflies” work far the first time, in the form of a book, in an effort to describe the troubled time I was in.

I found myself in the turmoil of a divorce, the separation from my son, a change of job, the move another place to live and efforts to adapt to this situation and pick up life. Now, two years later, I want to review “Fireflies” and reconnect with a fresh view, also because this specific project can be considered as a prologue of my parallel work in progress titled “Desassossego” (“Restlessness”).

In restless changing world, every time when we switch on the news we can observe frightening messages about terrorism, economic crises, migration, the rise of the right wing and environmental issues. At the same time, most of us can distance ourselves from the problems of the world and are occupied with our own personal problems. Is this an act of selfishness? Maybe. It’s apparently our survival mechanisms.

Against that backdrop, after being in limbo far a while, trying to decide what to do next, “I found fireflies in my dream, talking to a strange, drunk and dead man!” appears in my dreamscape. I can’t remember my dreams but sorne frames are reprojected and mixed in my daydreams to alternative realities and absurd scenarios. I always had a fascination of observing life from the edge of the cliff.

From that cliff I sing this song of images, a sad and lonely song, longing far better days.