Time
Ever since I was a little girl I have always been captivated with watching fire. I get lost in the way the flames dance, and have found myself sitting there, still entranced, long after the embers have cooled. To me it seems like I have only been there for a moment, even though hours have gone by. I am aware of what is happening around me, but am distracted by nothing at the same time.
For this series I wanted to see if I could capture the moments that have always held my attention the most, through breaking up this time into fragments. I chose to use a sparkler for this series to show how much variation goes unnoticed between each flicker of light. Sparklers have the same captivating qualities as fire, but during this series I noticed one big difference. When I was doing this project I observed that I became very aware of my heartbeat while being entranced by the flame. When it started to burn my heart leapt with excitement then calmed as the sparkler began to dazzle my eyes, the difference was when the sparkler went out. I felt my heart beat faster and tighten almost like I was nervous. I believe this happened because there was a sudden transfer between being captivated to being back into the conscious world.
This experience has driven me to be more captivated by fire, than ever before. It has made me realize just how in tune by body becomes while I am mesmerized by this occurrence. It is as if the flames transport my mind into a place where time stands still, and in this place all I can do is exist while the world happens around me.