Pause.

“Pause” is a collection of imagery from personal daily reflections on the state of the world. I started this project as a reminder that, in many places around the world, things are ruthlessly falling apart. The media images emerging from the current war in Ukraine haunt me yet I am surrounded by a different reality in Southern California. It is a strange juxtaposition that illuminates how in one corner of the world things are calm and life is “normal”, perhaps even beautiful for some, and in others, daily life is a horrifying, life-threatening experience.

In this (ongoing) project, I use photography as a way to remember that juxtaposition and to take a moment to pause to feel sorrow, loss and grief for all that is falling apart. The process has become a daily reflection and a quiet prayer. Many of the images contain an element of my life in Southern California - the coastal desert environment, food security, warmth/sunshine, safety and peace - with tones of deep darkness, a remembrance of all the suffering the world over. I have applied the colors of the Ukrainian flag (blue and yellow) to most of the imagery to evoke a reminder of the current war.