Insight-Out

A long exposure gives the photographer the ability to literally record time in the form of a graph, where the length of the mark left by the moving subject is proportional to the duration of the recorded time. (...) Therefore, through long exposure, the photographer can simultaneously symbolize both space and time.
-Andreas Feininger, The Creative Photographer

"Insight-Out" is my personal exploration into meditation and self-discovery, grounded in Jungian theories of the unconscious. Photography, derived from the Greek word meaning "drawing with light," becomes a tool to tap into the subconscious mind, using the body as both subject and medium. Through the light-painting technique, this series captures the unseen world of meditation, revealing the inner light that emerges when we confront our subconscious.

This project is not only a visual exploration but also a performative act of self-portraiture. I created a dark studio environment specifically for this project, where the act of light-painting and self-portraiture merge into a therapeutic performance. These photographs are raw, unprocessed experiments captured directly from the camera, emphasizing the authenticity of the self-exploration process. Each long exposure not only traces the movement of light across my body but also encapsulates the passage of time—capturing both space and time, as described by Feininger, while I journey inward.

This work is part of my bachelor thesis titled Photography as a Therapeutic Tool – Insight Out: Therapy through Photography – Thesis Research, published by the University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, 2018.