Hannah Wilson

I see physical spaces as openings for mental spaces. I suggest that looking out into infinite landscapes can be grounding, offering freedom for the mind and perspective within our finite lives. In alignment with Eastern philosophy, the empty space in my work is viewed not as a sign that something is lacking, but as a space for potential. I identify with Gay Watson’s (2014: 30) inclination that “attention to emptiness may not leave us with nothing, but with an appreciation of the intricate, ultimately ineffable construction that is our reality.” I use windows as framing devices through which to view landscapes. In my abstract and minimalistic work, that is “neither landscape, nor interior,” the viewer is both looking out of a window and looking at art (Lorenz Eitner, 1955: 285). I intentionally shoot the landscape out-of-focus; the seemingly small scuffs on the window, that are akin to printmaking, become visible. In this provocative use of photography, viewers are required to participate in the completion of the picture, a process that encourages slow looking. Viewers may become aware of both how and what they are seeing. Thus, it is not the particular landscape that is important, but the way the landscape is perceived by the viewer. I direct viewers’ eyes through my windows and into a space of active contemplation. If viewers allow themselves to enter into the active contemplation, then they set themselves up to gain knowledge about reality that doesn’t fit the structure of words (Jan Zwicky, 2012: 203). When one is moved, when one finds something significant, words only generalise, and allude to it, never getting to the heart of what was felt. I hope one day that I can continue my research into the ineffable, but until then I plan to peruse graphic design related jobs.