Ouroboros
Several years ago I had the unique opportunity to become a member of New York City’s Infinity Photographic Society. Attending my first Infinity meeting, I was asked to introduce myself and my work using one word. The word I chose was “reality.” That is because reality has been my source of inspiration throughout the years. Especially the less popular side of it, which includes topics like HIV/AIDS, LGBT, human and animal rights, severe weather and its effects on the environment, health/medical, editorial and current events.
I have always been fascinated by the delicate balancing act defining reality–a balance dictated by contrasting elements in our life–the good and the bad, darkness and light, creation and destruction, and so on.
This balance and our role in maintaining it, brings to mind another term–ouroboros, the serpent that consumes itself. Ouroboros is a symbol of self-reflexivity, of reinvention through cyclicality. In a sense, it represents new meaning, shaped by the fight between two contrasting elements. Examples of ouroboros are present all around us, including nature and the environment, HIV/AIDS, our very existence at the intersection of reality and fantasy, and many more. It is up to us to interpret and use them to our advantage.
I have worked with business professionals, and small and larger business owners helping them with marketing and promotion or office art work. My writing and photography have appeared in print and online publications, while my photography artwork has also been part of several New York City art shows and galleries. My books include photography collections like Sandy Tales: Snapshots from a Hurricane, Infinite Lights: A Collection of 9/11 related photography, and Journeys Through Darkness: A Biography of AIDS telling the story of the pandemic through the story of award winning, legally blind photographer Kurt Weston. Journeys also features a few of Weston’s images.
ALINA OSWALD 