Overlay/Reflection by Chipka
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Description
Bioy Casares once recalled that a certain heresiach of Uqbar stated that mirrors and copulation are abominable, since each increases the number of men. I can only recall his recollection because I read the story in which he appears. In his somewhat turgid—and wholly brilliant—short story: “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, Jorge Luis Borghes recounts the formulation of an entire world and that world’s subtle and meticulous invasion into our own.
When I lived in Prague, and was first beginning to feel the stirrings of a country called Agara within the mind of my muse, I met a fellow traveler who found himself intrigued by the invention of a wholly-believable yet fictional country. He was reading Labyrinths: a collection of Borghes short stories, and he presented his copy of the book as a gift to me. I read “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” on his suggestion.
Since that time, I’ve written stories placed in Agara, and because of those stories, other unreal countries have sprung into existence. Agara exists somewhere to the north and to the east on some obscure fringe of Europe, and because of Agaran history, I’ve learned that another country exists: Ükür. It lies somewhere in the Balkans, it is, likely spooning with Bulgaria, nibbling Albania’s borders and sneering at Turkey. (Given the history of the Balkans: oh dear!)
This all goes back to mirrors, and more specifically to reflections. In contemplating the stories I’ve set in Agara and in Ükür (and there are more to come) I found myself asking what such stories actually reflect…and in asking that, I found myself wondering if all of reality—as we perceive it—is little more than a reflection. What if all that we perceive in reality is little more than humanity, and humanity’s concerns thrown back at us, like a muddle of light bouncing off of glass? What if we are a source of perception, standing between a source of reality, and the surface from which that reality is reflected? What if our own lives and our own existence is also a source of reality and not a function of it, and what if—unlike that brighter source of reality—we are conscious and able to manipulate what is reflected, or what strikes the mirror that we’re looking at? (In short: are we the mind of God, trying to figure itself out?) I suspect that the stories concerning Agara and Ükür address that question a bit more overtly than I anticipated. Both countries, after all, exhibit a certain kind of distortion: they warp the mirror that we call reality, and in the case of Ükür, especially, the rules of reality change. Sometimes suddenly. In Agara, there’s something else a play, however…a machine that I suspect willnever reveal itself fully. Perhaps it isn’t a machine at all, but instead, a mirror factory. Who knows? Even as the writer of tales concerning Agara and Ükür, I cannot say.
What does any of this have to do with a street scene from Chicago, merged with a photograph of weathered wood with paint flaking off of it? Probably nothing! But it set my mind to working, and so, I began to see this image as a reflection thrown back at the viewer from the face of an imperfect mirror. How much of a reflection is changed by the presence of dust, or sneeze-drops expelled by some sniffle-burdened person checking their reflection? How does reflected reality change simply because of warped glass, colored glass, or glass with bubbles trapped in it? If my questions of reality can be related to the presence of a reflective surface, can we then be certain that the reality we’re perceiving is the real thing, or are there flaws in the reflective surface that we haven’t yet taught ourselves to be aware of? (I shudder to think of who or what might have sneezed onto that mirror, but I also giggle at the thought that our lives, as we recognize them, might contain warps and distortions caused by…well…what…god-snot?) Who knows.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (18)
flavia49
fabulous work
soepie17
I like the idea, it reminds me of a drug induced moment when I came to 'realize' that we are, God is, a constantly self-enhancing brain with no way of coming to a fully understanding of itself, but knowing that and at peace with it. Maybe we're all just to occupied with our lives to lose track of what's really important: Being at peace with ourselves, the world, reality...
Faemike55
Great work on the writing and the image one could consider the aspect in regard to how Plato viewed life and form in his writings in the Republic
sandra46
outstanding work! great image!
CoreyBlack
You raise some interesting questions about the nature of reality and our individual perceptions of it. Always a fascinating topic. LOVE LOVE LOVE the image, which fits perfectly with the subject matter. As an artist, and a person with my own version of "reality", I love to see these interesting juxtapositions of things. Great work, as always.
jac204
Wonderful effect when merging the two pictures.
durleybeachbum
Stimulating musings and a truly brilliant image
wysiwig
You narrative reminded me of two things I read by Chuang Tzu a long time ago. Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly... Suddenly I awoke... Now, I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming that I am a man. and Are you and I perchance caught up in a dream from which we have not yet awakened? The idea of perception has always fascinated me. Your most excellent image goes back to something I think you said about a coffee house. How the walls absorbed parts of those who had visited there. This image raises similar thoughts. See how the old, weathered wooden wall absorbs traces of those who have passed by. Its all there if we can only perceive it.
GARAGELAND
Everything has been said, I tip my hat!
kgb224
Outstanding work my friend. God Bless.
Fidelity2
Oh, how nice it is. I thank you for it. 5+!!
pat40
Wonderful pic.
auntietk
Something happens. An event. It exists in space and time, and contains no intent, no consciousness. An inert unfolding, if you will. Joe is a witness to the event. His perception is colored by his life experiences and his previous interaction with unfolding events. Joe experiences the world as being an unsafe place, filled with pitfalls and traps. He feels manipulated by everything around him. If you asked him to explain the event, his voice might be strident, a little loud, his bravado covering layers of fear. Mike is a witness to the event. His perception is colored by his life experiences and his previous interaction with unfolding events. Mike is totally self absorbed. Nothing happens around him that he doesn't believe is directly connected to him in some way. If an event doesn't effect him personally, it might as well have not happened. If you asked him to explain the event, he would talk about himself, or perhaps he may not have noticed it al all. Bob is a witness to the event. His perception is colored by his life experiences and his previous interaction with unfolding events. Bob has had a lot of good results in his life, and approaches everything with a curious mind and a positive attitude. He notices everything, and wonders how this might fit with that. If you asked him to explain the event, he might sound excited, filled with wonderment, enthusiastic. Same event. Inert unfolding. Perceptions of reality. Each of us shows the world a distorted reflection, each of us believing it's the most accurate reflection possible. This allows for multiple sci-fi plot lines, as well as being one way to see the world.
helanker
This is a really amazing shot. Superbly found and captured, Chip. You know. I have since I was about young, imagined, that if we had a telescope big enough, we might be able to see, that our galaxy is just a little dust fragment on our way from a ceiling to the floor in someones room. :-) How about that? Wouldnt that be a huge chok to discover? I bet we wouldnt even get to know it, because the scientist wouldnt tell us about their discovery :)
MrsRatbag
Perceptions....the ruminations make me think of the ending of the MIB films, where our place in the universe is revealed to be not quite as important as we think it is. What a brilliant concept! For your shot, excellent and thoughtful work, and your narrative is thought-provoking.
three_grrr
And what if we are nothing more then a hologram, projected out into space from some long extinct civilization (our very own) and we continue to relive it as the projection repeats itself, over and over, set on some auto replay millenia and light years ago?? Is that why when 5 people are asked what they saw, each has a totally different recall? For example .. when my child tells me of events that happened in our home 30 years ago .. I often wonder just WHOSE home did she experience these things, because none of them happened, ever. Perceptions or warped and defective holograms, worn out over uncountable replays??? This is such an amazing image just because it fits any of the thoughts of all the comments I've read. Gorgeouw work on it, it draws my eyes back to it again and again ...
praep
Great idea - well done manipulation.
icerian
This is street atmosphere which I like. Excellent! 5+