Worlds

There is nothing quite like seeing Earth suspended in the void of space. Astronauts attest to this as a religious experience permanently altering their perspective. And thru photographs we can vicariously share their experience. Most of us have seen some of these breathtaking images.

In his project Worlds, Edward Fausty seeks to participate in this reality while on the ground. In his wanderings thru natural areas (orbiting the planet on two feet) he captures circular photographs of Earth that suggest a spherical orb by virtue of lens distortion. Each image is a microcosm that also suggests a macrocosm, a planet.

Fausty has long been interested in eastern philosophy and the symbolism of the circle. This project began with the desire to make images in a circular form. The 8mm fisheye lens was the only lens projecting a circular image small enough to fit inside the rectangle of the digital sensor, resulting in an un-cropped  circular image rather than the usual rectangle shape of photographic images. 

As he had to wrestle with the unwanted spherical distortion of the lens, he began to realize its significance. He became drawn toward the illusion of the spherical form, a circle in three dimensions, intrinsic not only to the planets, stars and moons, but potentially to other dimensions, known and unknown.

The images have been printed with digital pigments on Japanese Aya paper. They vary in size from 15" to 87". Edition size is 7 for each image. Each image has a unique number; they are not titled.