Emilia Martin - Far From Here, Where Darkness Lies
Far from here, where darkness lies “(...) to reclaim perspective in a universe Where science and wisdom are no longer valued to escape talking heads who pontificate ceaselessly on screens large and small, generating more heat than enlightenment While I remain bewildered in darkness.”
"Darkness And Light" Marianne Gambaro
In western societies, darkness is perceived as a threat. It is associated with blindness, fear, mystery, something evil, something out of control. These negative connotations create fundaments for the reality where the level of light pollution is rising fastest in the history of the Earth, simultaneously with the overly rationalized, dominating, patriarchal ways of thinking. I observe a dangerous tendency to value dry facts over instincts, dominance over sensitivity. With the rising levels of light pollution, melatonin in the blood gets dangerously low, species crucial for the ecosystem die out and starry nights are no longer present in our lives. We're losing the darkness, and I believe that with darkness we're losing something very primal and important: our instincts and feelings. My first experience of starry nights brings the feelings of nostalgia and childhood memories. “Far from here, where darkness lies” is an investigation of rising light pollution, disappearing starry nights, but also my personal journey of looking for things that seem lost. It's a story of fears to be tamed, of a primal desire to get closer to something universal, bigger than myself, and hope that the narrative can be turned around.