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Refractions of Either, 2022
A Photograph by Anthony Ness
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The final piece to be completed as the base of the vertical triptych, its position and imagery are meant to suggest the world of matter. Ether has historically been defined as "a very rarefied and highly elastic substance formerly believed to permeate all space, including the interstices between the particles of matter, and to be the medium whose vibrations constituted light and other electromagnetic radiation" (Oxford English Dictionary). Refraction refers to the change in the speed and direction of light waves when moving from one medium into another. The title is in reference to our perception being the medium that slows down and separates the sea of vibrations that is the universe; suggesting matter is inseparable from perception.
Starting from the mid left of the image, ether is a brightly burning sphere descending while its reflection simultaneously ascends; this represents the duality of existence; its light is the energy that will create the appearance of matter. The ether and its reflection, objective are reality and perception respectively; when they meet, the fire is extinguished represented on the opposite side as colorless and ghostly, vapors of mental impressions, thoughts, and memories. The face blowing the smoke represents nostalgia and the desire to blow the smoke back over to the side of creation as we resist change and desire to relive past experiences.
