Joel Parkinson, Within Without (Art 2020)

I have lived a life of certitude and ease; whose rhythms and indulgences were equally predictable and enjoyable. Yet, upon the approach of adulthood, I have inhabited an unstable terrain between childhood and adulthood. My sense of identity, belonging, and home in absentia; interspersed within a darkness that permeates everything. Suddenly, I’m all alone, sailing out into dark unknown waters as the sun-drenched lands of my childhood recede into the distance. What slips into the shadows is as much a part of the work as what we can see. Like a Caravaggio, my body is luminous emerging out of the dark space I have inhabited. To me, this portraiture illustrates the last vestiges of my innocence, and the ever-growing maturity and individuality before the arrival of adulthood. The possibility of photographing decay or disrepair of memory to revive the lost domain of childhood seemed both beguiling and yet so unlikely. Perhaps that is what adulthood means: a farewell to the familiar, and a welcoming of the unknown.

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