MIEKE DOUGLAS
WHITE HORSES: COVID DREAMS AND THE RHYTHM OF LOCKDOWN
“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.”
-Rainer Maria Rilke.
The emotions of lockdown come and go, ebb and flow: disquieting and sometimes extreme, often softly wrapped in a safe quarantine bubble.
I have unusually vivid dreams.
I read in the news that I am not the only one. It can be hard to separate dreams from reality.
The world was in lockdown, but Spring and Summer still came as they always have. I have never enjoyed watching the Seasons unfold so much. We are all focussing more on the natural world. The air is cleaner, the streets are quieter, and wildlife and flowers are returning.
I find some comfort in slowing down and surrendering to the unstoppable progression of Nature. There is a stillness to be found in yielding to her rhythms and just accepting their power. I flow with her, and she emboldens me.
These images explore the simple lines and repeating patterns of Nature in her various forms. I would like the viewer to slow down and experience the wonder of Nature’s undulating and unstoppable rhythm, like waves hitting the shoreline.
Breaking waves are sometimes referred to as white horses, as the crest of the wave can be seen as the horse’s mane; if you listen closely, the faint booming of the waves crashing sounds like hundreds of hooves thundering along the ground.
Here are a few of my White Horses—the repeating forms, shapes, and lines of Nature’s rhythmic and unstoppable progression. Give in to their power.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
MIEKE DOUGLAS
Mieke is a Dutch and Canadian Fine Art Photographer living in London.
Her practice challenges our ambivalence to the natural world by playing with distance and scale. She strips down the unnecessary and focuses on simple lines and moments of movement and stillness.
Her work moves between fact and fiction and challenges the boundaries of photography and art.
She has recently won several significant international awards, including Chromatic, Minimalist, Julia Margaret Cameron, and British Photography Awards. Mieke is also Shortlisted for the Alpha Female Award at the Sony World Photography Awards and for the Association of Photographers Emerging Talent Awards 2020.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. She has just had her first Solo Show, ‘STILL”.
Mieke Douglas is an international award-winning fine art photographer of AOP Emerging Talent 2020,
The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2019, Julia Margaret Cameron Award 2020,
and Sony World Photography Aalpha Female Award Shortlist 2020.
Read the full article in Art Market Magazine Issue #67 February 2022
