THE NUMINOUS WORLD

The Numinous World began during the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. The country's charged atmosphere, combined with the loss of my father, left me searching for relief — so I turned to the trees and flora in my neighborhood. These images reflect liminal spaces of grief, fear, and apprehension. Beyond simply photographing pretty fall color, I wanted to capture the emotional turbulence swirling around me, swirling in me.

The resulting series was made entirely with my iPhone and Instagram's Layout app — a process intentional in its simplicity. Each image is a fractal-like composition of mirrored forms that explore the figure-ground relationships between branches, leaves, buds, tree trunks, and the dance of reflections on water. By crafting these symmetrical images, I reveal the repeating patterns hidden within natural forms through their interplay with sunlight, streetlight, and the surrounding environment.

In Japan, shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing," is a practice that's said to neutralize the toxic effects of modern-day life. Practitioners believe that time spent in the forest helps them find homeostasis. The Numinous World emerges from this same impulse. Grief can be disorienting, untethering. Making these images — pausing, observing natural forms, finding symmetry in the wild and unruly — grounded me when I needed it most. These images are proof that even in perilous times, even in loss, the search for beauty endures.