Winter 2024 — Art
‘To The Island’ reveals a melancholy, black and white snapshot of passengers traveling to an island by watercraft. The first word that appeared in my mind’s eye, when I saw this photograph, was loneliness. Also, when we think of island, many connect the word to isolation. In this interpretation, we see that isolation brings a feeling of sadness.
All of the passengers look away from the camera, shutting themselves out from the observers . This form of disconnection also strengthens the theme of isolation. The waves in the background of the photo are calm. Among the loneliness could be acceptance of this feeling without a desire to fight it. The candid nature of this photo illustrates the idea that loneliness is a natural occurrence within human experience. Additionally, the photo’s depiction of multiple passengers demonstrates how loneliness has a community of people.
What also struck me about this piece of art were the elders sitting by themselves. An interpretation here could be we age and end up alone. With the children in the photo mimicking the elders, this shows how loneliness is a repeating cycle throughout generations, and how the future is lonely too. Another interpretation could be that loneliness can surface at any age.
I learned some years ago of isolation and loneliness being separate identities, even though they can involve each other. I feel as if the photo is more focused on loneliness, blossoming due to isolation. Taking a step back from the photo, what feeling(s) has isolation brought you? Loneliness, such as this photo? Tranquility? Bliss? Recovery? Freedom? Maybe all periods of isolation combined in your life have given you just one or all of these feelings (or others not mentioned here).
Primary Writer — Hamsa, Associate Editor
Secondary Writer — Amber Kennedy, Editor-in-chief; Poetry Co-Editor
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Photo by David Geib on Pexels
