It is always interesting to see a tableau, whether it be a painting or a photo, that catches us by surprise. Seeing Lotfi Bouslah of Lolo Pics's photo " Mirror Effect " shared today that is a tableau in bright green and blue colours of lake Akkar in Aokas, Bejaia, made me imagine I was at an art gallery, stepping back from this intriguing water scene. The photo is a peaceful scene that focuses on the reflection the water creates on the foreground, of the aquatic plants and trees on the other bank. The reflection invites meditation, pause, and this photo gets our attention because of the mystic line - up of the plants and the trees. We are face to face with a council of the spirits of these plants and trees, that have in the middle of the line - up a taller tree, the sage of the group. This sensation is intensified by the presence of the plant Cyperus, of the family Cyperaceae, of which there are about 700 species world wide. Their size varies quite a bit, with the smallest species having a height of 5cm, and the tallest species reaching a height of 5 meters. The popular name of this plant is papyrus, with the famous ancient species of Cyperus papyrus hadidii of a crucial historical significance, as it is from this plant that the ancient Egyptians made their famous thick paper, papyrus. This invention on behalf of the ancient Egyptians goes back 4000 years B.C. This ancient plant survives to this day, but is in danger of extinction, due to the destruction of its habitat of humid regions. As I grew up in Belgium and live in Washington State, this photo with this tall species of Cyperus, this cousin of the famous family of papyrus, is quite exotic. For 6000 years this plant and its famous ancestor have managed to survive, and now modern man risks to eradicate it from the planet. The line of trees making a queue behind the Cyperus plants seem almost immobile, not just physically, but spiritually, as if the council of trees had its grave doubts as to the survivability of its species and of the earth. The photo has a timeless quality, a calm dignity, in spite of a hint of disquiet. In that sense, the mirror reflection acquires a quality of profound contemplation, almost as if the water becomes a repository for the memory of the trees and the aquatic plants. This photo of Lotfi Bouslah underlines the marvelous capacity the nature photographer has to manage a sublime balance between an intimate and an universal narrative, a quality of his art I admire very much.
The other day, a person not necessarily well intentioned, asked me why I dedicate articles of study to specific photographs. I told them without any hesitation or resentment that I did so because it is very necessary in a world that has a lot of difficulty with the understanding of tradition and culture as spiritual manifestations. Everything stays on the surface. It is high time to take a step back and communicate once more from soul to soul. My articles on the photography of Djamil Diboune, of which there are 370 pages at this moment in several books, and on the photography of Chamy Tout Court and Kata Djabri, and on the efforts of the hiker group " Les Marcheurs " and on the cultural and sports efforts of " L'Association de Wilaya Tourisme et Culture " Les Randonneurs des Babors " and on the photography of Lotfi Bouslah of Lolo Pics, are a passionate and conscious effort on my part to wake up the world to the importance of feeling beauty, nature, culture, down to the most profound part of our soul, and to the importance of the capacity for respect and camaraderie towards our fellow man on this earth. This conversation started for me in the north of Algeria with my Berber friends, allowing me to discover a treasure of friendship, of nature's beauty, of generosity, of poetry, and a profound sense of community, hope, determination and courage. This article is also part of a memoir in honour of Algeria, of its history, its culture, and it is in memory also of my life and its perspective that is enriched by the perspectives the nature photography of my friends there allow me to appreciate and share. My articles are the testimony of my Flemish - French - American spirit and its odyssey of discovery of the nature of Algeria through the perspective of the soul and heart of its photographers blessed with marvelous sensibilities and intuitions. My articles and books and collections of poetry on the Berber photographers that have touched my soul and inspire my energy and my heart, are a way to unite the world, to start a dialogue, an interest, on everything that makes us understand we are all members of the same family, and that the only way to understand this truth, is to tell the story of each beautiful person we meet. In my case, I had the good fortune to be able to tell these beautiful stories of these beautiful people in my life through the nature and the unique friendships that destiny allowed me to discover in Algeria. There once was a Flemish woman, who left her country, lived in Texas for 10 years, who tried to find her way in Washington State, in Olympia, and who found in the nature and the nature photographers of Algeria the important melody and words for a very timely message for the world that risks losing its soul and heart to indifference, hostility, ignorance and cruelty. The photo of lake Akkar at Aokas, Bejaia, with its poignantly relevant title " Mirror effect " Lotfi Bouslah gave for the council of trees surrounded by the Cyperus plants, these solemn ancient guardians, is a beautiful introduction for a long overdue conversation on the essential and urgent importance to remember the true value of life : our humanity, that cannot survive if we do not understand that there is no " you " or "me ", or " them ", there is only " us ".
Trudi Ralston
The research on the symbolism of trees, and on the aquatic plant Cyperus, and on the species Cyperus papyrus subspecies hadidii, courtesy of Wikipedia.
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