Last shot - for now, maybe forever - of Jan Johnson's Purgatory Garden. When posting the previous two images, it never once crossed my mind that a post-apocalyptic vision might be upsetting or depressing for some in light of the pandemic. But then, I've never been one to turn away from the dark side. It's part of who we are. Our literature in particular is filled with it, from Joseph Conrad to Bram Stoker to George Orwell to Shirley Jackson to Stephen King. However, the more visual it gets, the more visceral it gets...
Jan said more than once that art should shake people up, make them feel something. I have to admit that I've felt frustrated over the years, trying to photograph this rusty bedspring with its little resident dolls. It sits upright, leaning against a huge tree. It has sat there for close to 35 years. Lichens have overtaken the doll on the right, now barely visible. All my earlier renditions were too bright and cheerful. I doubt that anyone viewing this current set will come away with that impression.
Starting tomorrow, a new set of nature & wildlife images from BC. I was thinking of a final tribute to the prairie winter, but then a big dump of snow landed on us over the weekend, and I refuse to photograph it, or even think about it, plain and simple. Enough... is enough!
Photographed in Jan Johnson's Purgatory Garden, Sooke, BC (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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A disturbing image? I find it so. The pertinent question: Is this what we do to children? No easy answers. I have my opinion, of course, which I shall keep to myself. From Jan Johnson's Purgatory Garden in Sooke, BC. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: doll chains chained cage caged imprisoned disturbing Purgatory Garden Sooke Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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Ah, just sit back and relax in a tropical paradise - what could be more wonderful?
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Tags: dolls macabre bizarre social commentary deterioration art jarring upsetting strange creepy Purgatory Garden Jan Johnson Sooke Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada
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Looking through a pile of old bicycles at the Purgatory Garden in Sooke, BC, this face jumped out at me...
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Tags: metal face bicycle fender macro vertical Jan Johnson Purgatory Garden Sooke Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada
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