Last year was full of incredible experiences, family time, travels and photography. At times, it was also perhaps a little busy. In contrast, this year has been a bit of an unusual one with a lot of false starts and ditched plans, and towards the end of summer, I found myself having to take some time off.
It was not something I wanted but for too long I had been trying to continue as normal when too many different things in life were pressing in on me and having hit full capacity many months before, I was forced to pause and take a break.
Having to rest and recover was surprisingly disruptive and quite boring too but as time passed, something started to happen. The Japanese have a word, ma, which can mean many things, including a pause in time, an interval, a gap or emptiness in space. It is a concept about the negative space between things but also about how that space is needed for things, for life to breathe. We need the absence, the interruption.
I discovered this myself when through the enforced standstill and boredom old ideas started resurfacing and new ideas and connections began to fill the gap. On one particular day, a fully-formed idea for a new photo series came to me out of my frustration, one which I would be able to work on while resting, using what time, capacity and existing work I had available. It was born, completed and made public in just two days, which is unusual for me, as I normally work on long term projects that can last years. It is on my website here, if you want to have a look:
I didn’t know it when I set out to work on that project but it became the turning point for my recovery and for getting my creative purpose back. It gave me something I hadn’t even realised I had lost in my forced attempt to push forward without stopping. In absence or in darkness, we can suddenly see and notice something else.
- Lea, November 2025