No Photographs on My Walls

There's a space on our newly-painted, white bathroom wall where a 30"x30" canvas could hang. I really don't like photographs on a wall although that's a bit ironic. I have always felt that wall art in a home should just add colour or shapes and shadows. Having a realistic image forces one to focus on its details and sucks one's attention from the room's functions.  It is strange I feel that way as I take a whole lot of photos. In fact, my Flickr account has tens of thousands! 

I wondered, though, if I could find something that I'd taken and turn it into a large-scale canvas. I opened a few albums and totally realized I was not up to the task of selecting one image from so many. Furthermore, I might want to keep our new bathroom monochrome. That'd be easily remedied as I often edit images to evoke a particular mood or to highlight just a section.

   

However, I realize that my attraction to a specific image isn't necessarily related to its artistic qualities. My attachment is generally emotional and often quite personal. For example, although I reduced the intensity of colour in the photo above, it's not the image alone that strikes me. 

This photo was taken during one of our first visits to Sri Lanka during this millennium. We were on a temple trip and this lady was treated as a family member by Jay's sisters. We called her aunty.  I do like how the wind was blowing her sari but my attachment to the photo is because she passed away in 2016. That was a year where a number of folks passed including Jay's father and brother-in-law. The passage of time is what makes this photo special to me. I am not sure I'd like it hanging on a wall anywhere.