Apocalypse
This image is based on one of my recurring dreams—one I’ve had so many times by now that I practically know it by heart.
I find myself in a place I’m exploring. Perhaps a castle. Suddenly, I hear a loud bang and notice lights coming from outside. I rush to a bridge to get the best possible view of what’s happening.
I’m not afraid. On the contrary. I’m fascinated and desperate to find the best vantage point to capture what I’m seeing. Just like I do in real life when the sky turns red in the morning or I discover something else extraordinary. I want to photograph it, film it—simply capture it.
On the bridge, I witness an incredible spectacle. There are colorful lights everywhere. Something cosmic, something I’ve never seen before. At the same time, I notice that panic is spreading around me. It’s only when I see the people, who are filled with fear, that I slowly begin to grasp what’s actually happening here: I’m in the middle of the apocalypse. Maybe the world is coming to an end right now. Maybe we’re all going to die.
And yet I can’t take my eyes off this spectacle. I’m overwhelmed by what I see, and at the same time, I realize that I’ll probably never be able to show these images to anyone.
What surprises me time and again about this dream is my own reaction. While the people around me are panicking, I feel a deep sense of peace. I don’t know exactly why. I only know that I can’t stop looking at these incredible lights.
Perhaps that is exactly what I want to convey with this image: that what we see and what we make of it can be two completely different things.
That’s why you don’t see any people running away in panic in this picture. You see me on the bridge, trying to capture images of a miracle, while all around me the world may very well be coming to an end.