Songlines
Statement:
Songlines, as believed by the indigenous peoples of Australia, represent ancient paths left behind by ancestral spirit-beings during the creation of the world known as the Dreaming or Dreamtime. These spirit-beings manifested themselves in everyday forms ranging from inanimate objects to people, and even natural phenomena. It is believed that their existence is revealed to us through the signs that they have left behind in the world that surrounds us.
This body of work is not to manifest any sort of truths about Australian indigenous beliefs, but rather to ask questions about our own existence and coincidences relating to our being. I look at these images as omens or apparitions left behind for me or acted out by me to clarify some sort of purpose. They suggest a narrative-like path not only through the individual dialog within each image, but also through the proximity of each image to the next in the series. The subject matter’s meaning, much like ours, cannot fully be comprehended, but simply is let on for our dissemination. We can only speculate and wonder where they will lead us and what they will show us about ourselves and the world that surrounds us.
-Jeremias Paul, December 2008