The Photograph

The exhibit was a muddle,

A clutter of metal, alone in a room.

Shadow and light gave effect

But eye and brain struggled for more,

 What meaning should we take away?

An icon of two feet,

An instruction to stand there

And "use your camera".

Unusual, and breaking

The normal 'showpiece' mode.

What was confusion,

simplified into message:

"It is not chaos".

The camera's lens

Brought clarity.

The eye had failed

To see the truth,

We had seen what was

And not the space between,

Mess, had deliberate form.

How often we think we see,

Know, understand, empathise

Only later to find the facts

Other than what we thought.

Space brings its own shading.

Republic of Azerbaijan Exhibit

 Biennale Venice 2013