Pictured: Photo created by me, Jesse Jacques, May 2024. Shot on Fuji Provia large format 4x5 Slide film.
Pictured above is a beautiful advertising image I created from a recently completed project that was exciting to work on. There are a few more related scenes with different colors and designs, but I'm only sharing this one on the website—you know how it goes. After finishing this project, I started thinking about the deeper connections and unseen forces that seem to guide the creative process. Each image we kept ended up connecting to so many things I wasn't even aware of until a week after when everything was complete and I was doing something unrelated. A very perceptive friend mentioned something about the images, sparking a realization of the intricate web of connections involved.
It was intriguing to see how certain choices I made, seemingly intuitive and spontaneous, resonated with ancient theories and cultural symbols that I hadn't known about beforehand. This left me pondering the mysterious forces at play, guiding these creative decisions and connecting them to a larger, universal narrative.
Think about this: A single creative idea flickers in your mind's eye. You kind of know why, but not really, yet you pursue that flicker anyway. Is there a specific reason you decide to choose this path and move forward? But then something strange happens. The flicker seamlessly connects with other elements in unexpected ways. As you peel back the layers, you discover deeper meanings and connections that lead to new insights and creative directions.
This process raises the question: Is it all coincidence, synchronicity, or was this particular path meant to unfold this way, guiding your evolution in what you are focusing on and engaged with? Was this idea meant to be shared, which is why things lined up for it to develop? Were the energies just working through you and the work to be expressed at this time because it was supposed to be?
The intricate web of connections and the seemingly random elements that appear out of nowhere add depth to the expressions you never knew existed before. Deep down, why were these choices made by you? What is the why before the ideation of the why?
"The why" refers to the underlying reason or motivation behind an action or decision.
"Ideation of the why" refers to the conscious process of thinking about or identifying this reason or motivation.
"The why before the ideation of the why" suggests looking even deeper, beyond our conscious understanding, to the fundamental, often subconscious or intuitive, forces that drive our actions and decisions. Who or what is working through you, on your side or against you?
So there you are, streaming consciousness (or downloading information) into something that you excel at without overthinking—guided by intuition and feeling. The more tapped into these energies you are, the greater the sensations and the clarity in revealing the chaos, or is it something else?
Is it an underlying script, an intrinsic knowing akin to how birds instinctively fly in formation, how animals inherently know their roles, or how the sun rises and sets with unwavering precision? This invisible guide, this innate blueprint, orchestrates the dance of creation, weaving through the chaos to reveal order and beauty. Since we have the ability to be creative, do we become conduits for these unseen forces, channeling through us to produce work that resonates on a deeper, almost cosmic level, if we choose to do so? Because if you look around, there is duality in creativity—some things uplift and are beautiful while others are dark and destructive.
Does the collision of our inner and outer worlds create a space where these energies can flow freely, allowing us to transcend the ordinary and touch the extraordinary? When our internal frequencies align with the external universe, do we unlock a deeper understanding and connection, enabling us to express the profound and the sublime? This harmonious convergence may be the key to producing things that resonate on a truly cosmic level, reflecting the intricate balance between chaos and order, and between the seen and the unseen.
Interesting stuff, right? The concepts I've been working on with photography lately have been fun and intriguing, to say the least, which influenced today's post. But it also got me thinking: How do you approach your own creative decisions? Are they driven by intuition, external inspiration, or a mix of both? Have you ever noticed unexpected connections that reveal deeper insights? What is the unseen hand guiding you when exploring new ideas, and is it positive or negative? Is it something within the system of your own consciousness, or something beyond? While the true nature of consciousness and what lies beyond it remains a topic of ongoing research and debate, it's a mystery that continues to intrigue us. We create and draw inspiration from sources that seem to emerge from the void, beyond our understanding.
Feeling good and ready to execute? Let's get started on your next photography project.
Click the link above to begin!
