MELANCHOLY
by
Silvia Berton
MELANCHOLY
a series of photographs by Silvia Berton
Melancholy is a word that describes a significant element that resides within the framework of the human condition. It is not a condition that is frozen, rather it is variable and subject to outside influences and circumstances. The main instigator of the state of melancholy is the individual human beings inner struggle between an imperfect world and a desire for perfection. This presents a constant state of personal turmoil as the world has always declined to present itself as a yielding sphere of perfection. Melancholy is also a gradient condition that can range from life threatening passages of introverted emotion, through to beautiful passages of self acceptance that are at a union with one's surroundings and geographical location. It is within this latter state of affairs that we can begin to resonate and place the images presented to us by the Italian photographer Silvia Berton. The geographical location and the inspiration for the `Melancholy´ photographic series is set in Sweden, the South West coast to be exact, at the small coastal town of Mölle. There is much to be said that the state of melancholy can assume the deity of vapour, generating an atmosphere that can pervade a specific place or location whilst acting as a conduit that incites an unspecified state of unease and choleric temperament to ferment and be present as a ghostly aura. This Nordic setting is the perfect location for the contemplation of the `human condition´. Silvia Berton has taken this matter to task by engaging in the chore of staging and photographically recording this much bedevilled status of the human operandi. To this end one has to be clear that this is not a matter that you can flirt with. A prerequisite of any degree of success in the capturing of this state of the human psyche also involves the participation of the human soul, that which we know of it and that which we do not. Good photography is made that way, with reasonable degrees of doubt which contribute to the blessings of the undefinable, the mystery element that allows photography to become ephemeral, as it is wont with poetic lines and verse prior to them assuming alternative shape and form. We can feel reassured that this moving state is one of longevity, a state that we can choose to surrender to as an act of subliminal acquiescence, a mere precondition of being human. Or we can choose to, or should I say be subjected to living in a state of near catatonic limbo. The images provided for our contemplation and soul searching by Silvia Berton are a moving and visually empathic rendering of the `melancholic condition´. The geographical as well as the physical location are evidence of the positive contribution to the overall `sensations´ that are viewed and felt when we absorb this fine series of photographs. A series of images that emanates the sensations of Nordic light and sensibility which is a renowned culprit in contributing and capturing the essence of melancholy which has proved over the years to be a stimulating and vital source of inspiration for films, literature and the fine arts that originate from this Northern part of our world. It is not the first series of images by the hand and eye of Silvia Berton and neither will it be the last but it is a series that `stands out from the crowd´ and distinctly separates it from the cacophony of detritus visual noise. What she does provide for us is visual nutrition upon which we can dwell upon, and reflect upon ourselves and our immediate relationship with the world both near and far. Galvin Harrison 2015