Shipwrecked Soul 1 - Danielle Wirsansky

Photograph
12" x 18" x 1.5" (plus frame)
 
This photography series follows a sailor, a shipwrecked soul that is lost. He finds himself in a kind of purgatory, lost in the wilderness. He feels the loss of his life and love, but can’t quite remember what it is anymore that he lost. He is left burdened by sadness for the love he has left behind but can no longer recall in this faraway place. I was very inspired by “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I wanted to play with the idea of the lost souls of shipwrecked sailors and what that existence might be like. I was also exploring the idea of the ocean as both a baptism and the River Styx, where those submerged are either born anew or washed clean of the memories of their past. All this soul has left is love, their feelings, and the memories that have faded away. This series was also heavily inspired by U2's song "Every Breaking Wave." Particularly the stanza that goes: Every sailor knows that the sea Is a friend made enemy And every shipwrecked soul knows what it is To live without intimacy I thought I heard the captain's voice But it's hard to listen while you preach Like every broken wave on the shore This is as far as I could reach I found the lyrics poignant and an apt metaphor for one's struggle with mental health.