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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Eight: Using symbols and metaphors to express meaning > Tempus Fugit, Parc de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, 2005
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08-JUN-2005

Tempus Fugit, Parc de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, 2005

Under the distant gaze of a Roman dignitary, a woman checks her watch. An instant later, she left the park. The Old Roman remained. His countrymen once lived in this region. They called it Gallia Belgica. This image is all about time itself. The Roman statue symbolizes the past, the woman the present, the glance at the watch, the future. The dark forest is a metaphor for eternity, time unending. The glow of light on the ground before the woman symbolizes vitality, energy, a life to be lived and enjoyed. Her position at the end of the bench creates tension – all that space was available to her, yet she chooses a position most appropriate to a quick exit. Tension can often work as symbolism. Her body language provides a metaphor for everyday life – one arm appears to be relaxed, yet she seems to sense an obligation with the other. Some will look at this image and see only a woman in the park. But others will be willing and able to read the elements of this image as symbol and metaphor, and will supply their own interpretation of them.

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Guest 20-Aug-2005 19:54
Love it.
Phil Douglis03-Jul-2005 04:29
Thanks, Kal, for adding your insight to this image. I loved the linkage between the statue and the light. When I look at this image now, I see the light as the past offering the present its guidance. What a wonderful metaphor you have added to this photograph. Knowledge and inspiration are right in front of her -- there for the asking. But she is looking at her watch and has to go. Too bad. I worked on this image in Photoshop for long time, trying to get the right balance between the darkness and the light. It took a lot of tries before I was able to make it work.
Kal Khogali03-Jul-2005 03:58
An eerie image Phil. There definitely is that feeling of being watched, achieved in this image. I also think it is not only the position of the lady on the bench that creates the tension, but her body language, leaning to her left almost being dragged out of the frame. You say she left seconds afterwards, here you capture the future in action. When I saw the pool of light I saw it as the statues offering to the modern world, a guidance through light. She could chose to step in to the light or exit left in to the shadows, you told us which she chose. Great image.
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