Connie is seeking to find messages though camera lens
AN EXHIBITION of stunning and emotive images captured by the lens of Macroom photographer Connie Cronin is currently on public display at the local library.
Entitled ‘Messengers in the Wind’, the exhibition is the culmination of a seed of an idea that Connie said “had been in my head for a long time”.
“I started this project when I was in college, and down through the years I have often taken pictures with this idea in mind so have build up a large portfolio of images from which to choose. The idea, or brief, was to do with love and loss, how we deal with the loss of a loved one when they pass on and how do we find them?
“For example, if we close our eyes as we walk along the sea shore, do we feel their embrace as the wind hugs us?
“This idea came from my own experience of seeing two birds flying freely over the graveyard during a family funeral. For me it made sense to look for signs or try to see if I could feel their presence in nature and the outdoors,” said Connie.
She said that though the medium of her photographs, Connie asks the viewer to ponder if they have ever searched to see if they can take a message from a loved one “in the waves crashing on the shore, the trees blowing in the wind or the birds flying in the sky.
“With my photographs I pose questions. Where are they now? Are they happy? Can they see us? What do they do all day in that ethereal place, or maybe time doesn’t exist there at all.
“I would like to think they come across as positive, emotive pieces – aesthetically pleasing with a presence going through them. I try to create the illusion of this presence through movement and some abstract techniques such as painting with light.
“This concept is just my own reaction to loved ones who have passed on, and the making of these pictures was my way of dealing with the loss of their physical presence while still feeling their spirit and love around me. Through creating my work, I believe they are very happy and are finally at peace and looking out for us from beyond,” she concluded.
‘Messengers in the Wind’ will run at Macroom Library until the end of this month.