In this series, Wingfield enters an imaginary conversation with the American poet Mary Oliver whose selection of essays Upstream is the main source of inspiration. In the opening chapter, the author reminisces about her childhood and tells us how most mornings instead of going to school she would feel a strong pull and head in the opposite direction towards the woods.
Following Mary Oliver’s footsteps, Wingfield’s on-going project Upstream offers us a similar experience of ‘truancy’. It is an invitation to leave behind the heavy burden of our lives, to break free from our caged lives and to walk upstream, whilst most of those around us will follow the current, travelling frenetically downwards.
Guided through the undergrowth into the shadowy milieu of the water’s edge, we are encouraged to lose our sense of direction or time and linger in unexpected places which hold a hidden presence. These photographs remind us to be curious, to reconnect with a vivid imagination that most of us leave behind overtime. Feeling alive and connected, we remove our shoes and delight in standing in the cool water of the stream.
Wingfield’s camera captures the sun’s rays as they embroider the darkness of unforeseen enclaves. Nature is illuminated by the undulating choreography of light, ‘the great priestess of landscapes’1. Dust and algae decorate a pool like iridescent jewels whilst patterned reflections move into place and then disappear as each ripple touches the surface of a stream. A radiant dialogue between water and light seeking to beautify our gaze.
Should we finally retrace downstream, Upstream is an invitation to keep this enriched memory as ‘In difficult time you should always carry something beautiful in your mind’ 2.
1 John O’Donohue, Divine Beauty
2 Blaise Pascal