One time when I was a young girl, my mother left me alone at home. For some reason she was delayed coming home, and I sat on the windowsill, my face pressed against the windowpane, in total terror and loneliness. I feared the darkness outside, and also the darkness inside, including my internal pain of emptiness and aloneness. The waiting seemed interminable. Something died in me. In the last 20 years since I came to Christ, he has been healing me in many ways, gently bringing his light to my life with contentment, peace and beauty.

In the series Solitude: Light and Stillness I place a solitary female figure in an almost empty interior near a window. My subjects range in age from ten to ninety. The light is either soft and reflective, gently illuminating the interior and bathing the figure, or strong and direct, flooding into the room through the window and producing a powerful chiaroscuro. Light coming through the window into these interiors is like a gentle yet powerful visitor. It is like the visitation of the Holy Spirit to our spiritual interiors.

The women whom I asked to photograph, all of whose lives are closely linked with mine, are usually sitting in a chair and some reading. Most of the time they look away from the camera, looking out the window as if remotely aware of the presence of a viewer peering into their private worlds. Sometimes they look up from the book and stare out at the viewer. They are motionless. There is a spirit of stillness and tranquility. There is a tremendous tension and energy in just being.

As a photographer, but also strongly identifying with the photographed subjects, I see not only light streaming through the window into the dark interiors, but also light streaming into my heart and soul, for the first time being able to experience the contentment of being me, the stillness and peace that can only come from God, and the joy of beholding God’s beauty. My soul soaks up the gentle and soft light that illuminates the everyday activities of being in solitude with God, being content doing simple everyday activities like sitting, reading, being . . . the profound miracle, mystery and beauty of human existence.

Krystyna Sanderson

email: krystynaphotograohy@att.net
web: www.krystynaphotography.com

Solitude #1
Silver Gelatine Print
10" x 8"

 
Solitude #2
Silver Gelatine Print
10" x 8"

 
Solitude #3
Silver Gelatine Print
10" x 8"