Shepherd in the Shadows

Kintsugi Art

This particular photograph and story was triggered by a song that really resonated with me.

I had heard the song a few times and it really struck a chord. I knew I could create a photograph that would serve as a visual rendition of the message in the song, and simply had to work on creating it.

With this story, I knew what I wanted to say but I had to search for a way to tell the story visually and find what I needed from nature in order to do so.

The song I am referring to is so beautifully written, it is called Standing With You by Australian singer Guy Sebastian. It tells the story of someone struggling with mental health, and another person trying to help them, but they know it can be hard to reach them so they simply stay with them and just be by their side making sure they’re not going through the darkness alone and someone to talk to is right there if they are needed.

Starting the Kintsugi Concept

I decided on the colours I would need first, and using Kintsugi gold was a must in this photograph. You can find more information on Kintsugi on my website but in a nutshell, Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art of using gold to fix breaks or cracks in ceramic goods such as a vase.

If a vase is broken, instead of throwing it out and rendering it useless, the vase is repaired using gold lacquer restoring it, but also transforming it into a unique new piece of art. The gold highlights the breaks or faults and presents them as a feature. Kintsugi is the absolute essence of resilience and had to be a featuring element in this photograph.

The other colours I chose for this photograph were green and white. Green offers the energy of renewal, neutrality, wisdom, positive energy, healing, hope and reassurance.

White offers the energy of independence, innocence, protection and clarity. Gold makes us feel love, optimism, courage, compassion and understanding. Gold inspires you to reach your potential. With these colours in mind I had the white set as the background and knew a green leaf would provide the green I needed.

Let the search begin

Wandering outside I went for a walk down my driveway which is lined with 8 big beautiful gum trees. One tree has a branch so low it almost touches the ground. I had a branch right in front of me and loved the sideways curl gum leaves tend to have. The semi curve could serve as a sign of protection.

Remembering there were two people, sides and stories in the song, the idea of two leaves came to me and I set about finding the two perfect leaves. I remember it was windy and cold that day so I stole a section of about 15 leaves and headed back into my studio to get out of the weather.

It’s amazing to me sometimes how these stories come together. Two leaves caught my eye, one near perfect, and the one right beside it was damaged. The damaged leaf would serve perfectly for one character in the story. I loved how the perfect leaf sat in contrast but it didn’t seem to be exactly what I was looking for, it curled in the same direction as the smaller leaf and it was more faded also.

I wanted the second leaf to be bigger, a brighter shade of green and to also curl in the opposite direction to the damaged leaf so it could protect and wrap around the smaller damaged leaf.

So many leaves, maybe too many?

I went through quite a few leaves before I found one that seemed to fit what I was looking for with the smaller leaf perfectly! It was meant to be. I had my two leaves, one bigger, brighter and in near perfect condition, the other leaf smaller, faded, curling into the bigger leaf and slightly in need of repair. And they fit together like the most amazing jigsaw puzzle. They connected and I could connect with them also.

The damaged leaf was perfect and ready to go. I didn’t need to do anything there.

The bigger leaf needed to show it had been through the war and had come out the other side, older, wiser and armed with experience and ability to assist and protect. In my plan to add the Kintsugi concept, I wished to reflect the smaller leaves breaks pretty much exactly.

Feeling Acknowledged

When someone is going through a mental health crisis or a tough emotional time I know it can help them to have someone who has been through a similar situation, as that person is speaking from experience and is more likely to know what they are talking about. Sometimes it can be incredibly helpful just to be acknowledged.

Adding the Kintsugi gold to this particular photograph was key element. Kintsugi and the philosophy behind it simply astounds me. Being able to add the Kintsugi concept allowed an extra element that enabled this story to be told and felt on a much deeper level.

Once I had completed this stage I was set to go. Technically, this was a straight forward photograph to take. Taken with my macro lens still (as always), I wanted a clean shot from above that would let the subjects do the storytelling. A simple white background, clear focus, low contrast lighting with soft, gently falling shadows.

Having the two leaves in close proximity keeps them connected and also accentuates how their shapes fit together. The curves flow with each other along the centre and allow an identical space from top to bottom. The closeness also allows the larger leaf to almost completely envelope the smaller leaf on one side.

The proximity of the two leaves render as a parent child ratio. Or someone who is growing, alongside someone who has grown already.

The story I wrote to accompany this photograph is aimed towards anyone who may be struggling, it aims to let them know they are not alone, there is help available to them, and people will stand by them and help them through. That they will come though this, they will heal and be well again. That they will be able to turn their ‘breaks’ into something special one say soon and that will become a strength in their life that they may wish to share to help others down the track.

Thank you so much for being here,

The Humble Hunter x

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