During my studies of mythology, Neolithic cultures and Senoi Dreamwork in the early 1980's, I developed a method of photographing people's inner portraits. I call this work Photomythology. Photomythology is specifically about expressing one's wholeness and creativity. We can externalize our sense of our beauty and connectedness to all things. Our most cherished ideals can be developed into imagery that reflects very personal realities. Art reminds us of our strength, hope, and power.
The image above entitled "Dreamtime" came from
a dream I had. In the dream I looked into a mirror and saw that
there were shells embedded in my face. I said, "see what you are
becoming" and looked down at my hands and saw that there were shells
embedded in my hands and arms as well. The dream was initially
disturbing to me. After meditating upon it, I realized that what was
happening was that I was emerging from my "shell". This was very
positive, very encouraging. I was living in San Francisco at the
time and there was a women's spa that I went to. A few days later,
while in the hot tub, I met a young woman who was stunning. I told
her about my dream and about my work. Much to my surprise and
excitement, when I asked her if she would be willing to "enact" the
dream for me, she said yes without hesitation. We went to Stinson
Beach, collected shells and then went to a friend's hot tub in Muir
Woods. After pasting shells on, I photographed her in water and
arrived happily at this image. Water represented change for me and
it's motion and mysteriousness gave life to the emotion that I
was trying to capture. This image always reminds me of a time of
synchronicity, of creativity and renewal. To touch the mystery, one
must be willing to take risks. The
following statement was made by Marsha
Toyahara from Berkeley, California about her
experience of a
"Photomythology" session. We
explored a memory of her marriage that still
seemed unfinished for her and decided how to
externalize that as photographic images. The
image that she is speaking of is
"Bride".
"Bride" The
dress: trying to find my essence, my
essential culture in a very traditional
realm - not grounded in the knowing that all
my essence, me, is right here in my heart
center, deep. It was the marriage, in some
way of my attempting to join the two
cultures in order to create, to be, to find
me. I
unsuccessfully tried to become this
synthesized, fabricated wife, whom I thought
would bring me home, what I thought would be
the best of both worlds, the best of me. The
dress thus symbolized to me the joining of
two worlds traditional Japan and modern
America. Because the marriage of these two
worlds was unsuccessful through that
physical union, I divorced and continued on
my search. Six years and
much growth later, I am in graduate school,
exploring a mythic image through a course
assignment. The path of these ensuing years
has brought much pain, joy, discovery, loss.
One of my mythic images is "Spiritual
Midwife - Rebirthing Creativity on
Woman." It seemed appropriate that I
engage my wedding dress once again in this
new relationship between two worlds - the
mythic realm and the material world. At the time of
the photo session, I had a felt sense of the
essence of Spiritual Midwife. She is there,
traveling through mythic time and space to
aide in women's emergence of her creativity.
I am reminded of the South American's
shaman's knowledge that only by going to the
mythic world can true healing occur. It was
this journey to mythic time and space,
facilitated by Marcelina, that the essence
of the spirit of my creativity was able to
be birthed. The marriage of heaven and earth
to bring forth the spirit. What was
interesting about the process of my photo
session with Marcelina was how we were
supporting each other in creativity; truly
the path of the feminine. Marcelina's vision
in the emergence of the physical image of my
mythic woman was instrumental in a deeper
discovery of the midwife. Her technical
expertise as well as her artistic and
spiritual sensibilities balanced her ability
to recreate what for me was still in
meditative form. The process of doing the
session was as important as seeing the
finished photo, and it was because of the
entire process that I feel able to explore
deeper my mythic midwife. The unseen is here
all around us, and fortunately due to
Marcelina's vision and clarity, I could
bring forth and materialize that which makes
me whole again. Marcia Toyohara Berkeley,
California
As an artist I focus on reflecting those moments when
the mystery of life opens and on portraying our relationships within
its vastness. I explore the inner visions and myths of people's
lives in a process I named Photomythology. America is primarily a visually oriented culture.
The way we perceive reality is influenced by a complex range of
imagery. Heroes and myths are intricately woven into our psyches.
Our ideas of individual identity, social place, and interrelatedness
coalesce from this matrix of images. Some of the most adverse effects
of this visual information are submerged in the unconscious, leaving
us adrift, unaware that we are in its undertow. As women in a sexist
culture we are especially vulnerable to manipulation through imagery.
Over thousands of years, our own authentic experiences of womanhood
have been erased from the public domain and replaced by fabrications
designed for exploitation.
Even if we consciously reject negative images, their
power can influence us subconsciously unless we change them at a deep
level. If not brought to light and examined, our images evolve into
private and eventually public myths and standards. Images we hold
are the foundation for the content and action of our lives. Through
inquiry into our inner imagery, we can expose outdated myths, produce
life-affirming images, and cultivate a dynamic vision of wholeness.
In consciously creating our imagery and mythologies, we affect our
political, economic, spiritual, and social attitudes which inspire
change in the outer world as well as our inner worlds.
Another use of Photomythology can be a reworking of past pain and feeling incomplete to achieve an integrated, wholesome experience of one's beauty and future. We look fearlessly into our experiences, lay hold to that which needs healing, and bring this into coherent myths that lead to images through photography and eventually to images of wholeness. This process focuses on using the darkness to reveal the light. We can use images to resonate with our lives as journey and as an adventure. We can create images to remind us to allow nothing to stand between us and the life we imagine.
I am including several photomythology sessions here. The first was shot in Berkeley, California with Marsha Toyohara.
Marcelina Martin 1983
"She-Stallion
of the Wild Woods"
Marcelina Martin 1993