Otago Daily Times

‘‘Land — Recent Work’’, Eric Schusser

(Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell)

- Laura Elliott

‘‘COLOUR catches the view and pleases the eye,’’ writes photograph­er Eric Schusser of his latest collection, ‘‘but black and white conveys the soul and pleases the heart.’’

Standing surrounded by his photograph­s, a series of windows on to majestic vistas and calm havens, you will understand entirely what he means. The South Island is full of glorious views, a different type of beauty everywhere you look; it’s always spectacula­r when rendered in full colour — but Schusser’s blackandwh­ite images become far more than a photograph­ic record of a stunning landscape. Somehow, in the absence of colour, an intense quiet seems to drop over each scene, everything becomes stills, and you find yourself looking into it, rather than merely at it.

The time of day, even the year in which the photograph was taken, shrinks in significan­ce as you mentally fall into each scene, engulfed in a sense of timelessne­ss, part of an eternal story. You might be standing on the banks of the Clutha River Reflection now, 10 years in the past or 100 years in the future. As you look through the bare tree trunks of Park Fog #1, gazing into the encroachin­g mist as the trees in the distance slowly slip away like ghosts — or emerge from the fog as you walk forwards into clarity and cognisance — endless possibilit­ies unfold. The scenes might be tense and eerie, or it could be utter serenity and peace, depending on the mindset you bring to what you see.

 ??  ?? Lake Onslow, by Eric Schusser
Lake Onslow, by Eric Schusser

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