"“I am dead because I lack desire,
I lack desire because I think I possess.
I think I possess because I do not try to give.
In trying to give, you see that you have nothing;Seeing that you have nothing, you try to give of yourself;
Trying to give of yourself, you see that you are nothing:Seeing that you are nothing, you desire to become;
In desiring to become, you begin to live.”
Rene Daumal
This was the very first image I shot in the series, it holds a very special place as it is the essence of where I became who I am and where I stand today, this is where I realised I was in fact reborn, giving myself a second chance, at life and I have learnt to live.
Jeanice my dear friend, and model for this image was going to be the perfect candidate as she approached the final stages of her pregnancy I wanted to include this precious time as it is the symbol of death of an old life and the rebirth of a new. Since we made this image, Jeanice has given birth to the beautiful Rosie Jean earlier this month.
When we planned to shoot this piece, I had planned to do it outside, however the weather on that day was not on our side so I had no choice but to set it all up in my living room. This meant bringing in a large black sheet as a tarp, a few bags of soil and numerous branches of trees starting to bloom from outside. It got kind of messy. We also shot another image which involved water, that was really messy !!!
With the help of Lauren who also did the hair and makeup, we setup the shot and achieved this beautiful interpretation of "Rebirth".
The set up in my living room
"Reborn"
Photography | Concept | Editing - Lori Cicchini
Model | Jeanice Branch
HMUA | Lauren Cataldo