When I stayed in the woods (which I WILL write about soon) I worked on a little personal photo project.. something I’ll likely never show anyone, just for me.. a little bit of performative dance responding to the shapes of the trees. I’ve just seen these exquisite photos by Louis Fleckenstein (thanks to @sardonicus.eu who posts wonderful stuff over on Bluesky) I’m never as original as I think I am.
Behold this joyousness..
(I’ll share these in lieu of my own photos, because like I say, just for me.)
Not that I was especially striving for originality. I will continue with my project. It was more about the doing of it than the results anyway. I’m not a very performative person day to day, but when I’m on my own, or hyper-focused on what i’m doing, yes. And sometimes often I have no shame, quite happy to seemingly make a fool of myself in order to do what I want to do. The woods were pretty quiet at that time in the morning, but there was this same old guy who seemed to be always coming up the path just as I was climbing out of the underbrush. So, probably the only person who will ever see what I did that day.
But the point is, this is the sort of thing I have been revelling in lately, this idea of doing things for their own sake. Since I’ve been spending less and less time online and on social media*, I’m no longer feeling that same intense pressure to share everything I do. I’ve been able to work and explore new ideas and experiment and do stupid things for no reason knowing that I do not have to show anyone any of this stuff. It’s mine. It doesn’t matter. It totally matters. It exists without needing to be seen or commented on. It gives me time to look at it properly and not have to decide yet whether or not I like it.
It’s pretty nice. I recommend it.
* I do realise that not everyone feels this way about social media, and that for a lot of people it is very beneficial. I’ve met some very special and important people online over the years and made some really good lasting friendships, and so I’ll never knock that. I just personally don’t do well with it anymore.. it burns me out and makes me anxious. I had to take a step back for a while, and it’s doing me good.
More Louis Fleckenstein over here.. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/person/103KCX by the way