Fine Art Photographer Debra Achen is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Transcendance’. To see Debra ’s body of work, click on any image.
The inspiration came to me as I was unpacking a box of masks…a cherished collection of my mother’s that I inherited on her passing. The masks are handmade by native cultures around the world. They “spoke” to me in a way, asking to be photographed. In a sense, working on this series offered me a unique way to stay connected with my mother’s spirit.
The “Transcendance” project draws conceptually from traditions of Shamanism and the Trance Dance experience. Through the ages, spiritual dancing has been embraced by cultures across the globe as a means to transcend our physical dimensions and connect with the Spirit world. Intuitive body movement and controlled breathing take the dancer on an inner voyage to a state of “trance.”
Most cultures throughout history have used masks in social or religious rituals or pageants. In some native tribes, masks are worn during ceremonies enacted to communicate with the spirits of their ancestors. The mask becomes an instrument of sacred revelation, a link to an ancestral presence – a way of bringing the past into the present. To symbolize this connection, some native tribes don ritualistic masks. The mask becomes an instrument of communication with the spirit of their ancestors…a link bringing the past into the present.
The long exposures in the “Transcendance” images create a blur with the dance movement, a metaphor for the continual passage through time in which the masks appear. For the Shaman, the soul lives forever. Spirit and ancestry are one – an eternally evolving line of genetic connection and wisdom.
All images and text © Debra Achen
See also:
By Debra Achen
Edge of Humanity Magazine’s
FREE Projects & Other Services
To Promote Works From Artists,
Photographers, Poets & Writers
CONTRACT FREE
online platform for artists to sell their creations
Photo Curator
PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK, SHORT STORIES & MUSIC Recommendations FREE Platform For Artists NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY In The Mind Of An Artist Open Submissions for Writers & Poets Photo Curator PRESS RELEASE On Edge of Humanity Magazine Photography Articles
Edge of Humanity Magazine is an independent nondiscriminatory platform that has no religious, political, financial, or social affiliations.
We are committed to publishing the human condition, the raw diverse global entanglement, with total impartiality.
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
By Edge of Humanity Magazine
Support This Small Independent Magazine
Please
DONATE
Follow Edge of Humanity Magazine
Email Subscriptions
WordPress Bloggers
Follow Edge of Humanity Magazine on WordPress.com
Not on WordPress?
Don’t Forget to add
to your reader or bookmarks
Thank you!
I did a word study on the word “transcendent” – you should check it out!
👌👌👌📷🤗