As much as I love the heat of summer, but the time September begins I welcome some relief. Relief from not just the heat and of course the humidity but also the light. There is an instinct in some of us very primal, very animal like, which draws us towards hibernation.
By the time school has begun and the leaves have fallen from the tree’s, we are forced into required joy and festivities starting with Halloween, and then followed quickly by the powerful hat-trick that is made up of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, both eve and subsequent day.
There are moments of each which bring happiness and joy, but there are also moments of each which bring anxiety, regret and slow waves of pain. January 2nd, has sometimes also become a day of relief, a day to mentally release the built up stress of the past several weeks.
January 2nd quickly however becomes January 3rd, and then 4th, and 20th and 29th. Most in us in the mid-west and North East, (and today even a brief visit to the South) have been through freezing rain, blizzards and wind, power outages and near slips and falls. We have scraped our cars, shoveled our driveways, driven when we could barely see and spent far to many nights trying to keep ourselves warm.
We, are ready for hibernation to be over, but nature is not ready quite yet to permit our release. We are not granted parole, instead have another 30-60 day sentence, depending on our geography. This is the time, not in the dead of winter, but closer to the end, the winter blues set in. We long for light now, the long dark days have taken their toll. For most, we pull ourselves out of it, with the help of loved ones and routine.
For others the hibernation takes a deep toll, we can’t pull out as easily, nor in truth, do we honestly want to. There is safety, and a warmth in hibernation that spring and summer cannot provide. It may not feel so great, so hot, but it’s comfortable....the loneliness, pain and darkness. But it protects, and hides what the sunshine of summer cannot.
The work of Michael Styles never fails to inspire me, his images thoughtful, reflective and full of relatable, and often, painful emotions. Last fall Michael welcomed me into his collection of works and I began with beds and bedrooms with Where You Sleep. When I was trying to find images to help connect, represent and embody my thoughts on the January winter blues, I again found Michael's images the perfect visual representation of what I was feeling, and wanted to express.
