Everywhere Water Should Be

Everywhere Water Should Be

Some of my personal favorites in my portfolio have been ones where there are multiple copies of the same person in a shot. I don't know why I am drawn to it, but I think I found the origin of it, the initial inspiration for it. There is a film called "the Cell" which had a scene where the protagonist falls into a surreal scene in the mindscape of a serial killer and encounters three identical copies of the same woman in a strange pose on a beach. To me, it seemed fantastically horrifying, something innately creepy about it, and the number of copies has all this potential for symbolism; what does three mean in this world, why not four or more? I've often joked that budgetary constraints created the idea, but really, if I try to imagine the images with other models instead of "clones" I think the effect would be less than it is. Still, you can't do this sort of thing on every piece, so I try to be sporadic with it, as much as I love it. "the Collective" was a popular one, as was "the Cloud Minders," "Thieves in the Temple" and "the Drawing of the Three."

With this one, I set out to be minimal - one character, central, with little to distract. Well, minimalism was never my strong suit, but this piece still keeps the spirit of the intent. When I shot it, I was thinking of using this "fountain" or birdbath as an homage to the mirror of Galadriel from "the Lord of the Rings." In fact, I have already finished one based on that, which I may post sometime later. But the trouble with a concept like that is, you, the viewer, don't get to see what he is looking at in the well, so it is missing that key piece of story.

So what else can be done with it? What versatility might an object like this have? I had the model pose somewhat stiffly and bird-like over it, and I liked the symmetry of the shot, but I didn't know what it was saying.

Life has a way of supplying subtext though - be it dark and somber or subtly hopeful.

My means of income is not my art - I have not found a way to make that happen yet. So, like many, I have a day job, and it is boring, and awful, and very stressful at times. Lately, this part of my life has overtaken everything: piece of mind, creative energy, time, of course. The only benefit to it is the money with which to live, but lately it feels like it is taking way more than it is giving. And so, with my empty bird baths, a location for water and bathing for our winged friends, I decided to keep them empty, and my characters are going through the motions of drinking, but actually, they are losing their life-sustaining moisture in the process. There is no water, not in the places it used to be, so it is time to move on and look elsewhere. And, in the true spirit of art imitating life, it is time for me to look elsewhere for work. When a supply becomes a demand, and takes what it is supposed to give, it is a means to an end.

A Before and After version of this image can be seen on my Facebook page:

www.Facebook.com/MichaelBilottaPhotography

Model: Gilberto Mendez