Searching Beneath the Silence is a contemplative search for solace amidst loss. Through photography, artist Simon Bray takes us to some of the places that mean the most to him. Woodland scenes and chapel pews alike alight as spiritual spaces of beauty, reflection and renewal, in this exhibition of sumptuous imagery.
Connecting the internal, external and potential of the eternal through the beauty and fragility of spiritual and natural spaces. These quiet spaces offer Bray a renewed sense of scale, a breadth which could carry burdens, and an
acceptance that there may not be answers to questions he didn’t know how to ask.
So many of us have experienced the paradox that within our deepest pain we encounter some of the most comforting moments of clarity. We all accumulate burdens and in recognising our pain we can worry that if we step outside of ourselves, we may lose the truth of an experience. As time passes, that pain and truth disperse, yet they hold an aesthetic quality. We have the ability to make something beautiful from them, the potential to view our unconscious selves reflected back to us. This is Bray’s encouragement.
Simon Bray is an artist and educator based in Winchester who utilises photography, text, form, music and audio to explore our experiences of loss, place, time and our connection to one another. His award-winning photography has been exhibited across the UK and published internationally.
www.simonbray.co.uk / @simonbray
In association with Creative Assembly : a collaborative network for the arts community in Winchester. @creativeassembly_winchester