Sally D’s Mobile Photograhy Challenge: black and white

Seen in Sydney. Woolloomooloo Bay Sculpture Walk. Unknown artist. Image: Su Leslie, 2015

I’m finding it difficult not to feel overwhelmed by the tragedies that engulf so many in the world. I’m thinking not only of acts of terrorism and the on-going refugee crisis, but the less visible evils that are visited upon us. In my own country government policies work hand in hand with corporate greed to create and exacerbate homelessness, poverty, welfare dependence, child deprivation and the long-term consequences of these for physical and mental health.

If feels sometimes that society, instead of being a strong membrane that holds us together, has become infected — a weeping sore through which evil seeps.

Not a cheery thought I grant you, and probably not what the artist who created the sculpture above was thinking. But I found myself looking at the shot with that gloomy thought in mind. Then I found Brecht’s poem below, reminding us that things are always more complex and nuanced that we might want to believe.

On my wall hangs a Japanese carving,
The mask of an evil demon, decorated with gold lacquer.
Sympathetically I observe
The swollen veins of the forehead, indicating
What a strain it is to be evil.

The Mask Of Evil
Bertolt Brecht

It is also a reminder of how much art and beauty can help heal us.

Finding peace in simple beauty. Image: Su Leslie, 2015

This post was written for Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge. This week’s theme is black and white.