Interstellar: Sympathy For Ice

I'm Simon McCheung, a user interface designer for Rocksteady. I'm also a self taught photographer. I've been taking spontaneous, fine art images for a few years, and I thought I'd try my hand at creating a series of images while away from home in London. When I decided to go to Iceland, I knew it was a country filled with unfamiliar, alien-like landscapes. This prompted the Interstellar series. In which, a character explores a strange new world.

I purchased a glass fish bowl to represent my character as an aspiring astronaut. The plain undergarments aim to give the sense that the character might be seen within a dream.

I had the character all set, but felt I was missing something solid to turn the narrative into a series. After having conversations with the locals of Iceland, I discovered how climate change has affected their land.

They explained that the ice and glaciers were receding at an alarming rate. This has caused uncertainty in the eco-system and affected the livelihoods of those who depend on the land.

I began thinking about the effects of climate change on every location I visited thereafter. It was enveloping my Interstellar theme. My glass fish bowl developed from my original intentions, into a metaphor; A society living in a bubble. Eventually the bubble pops, or in this case, cracks to reveal the truth.

I wanted the viewers to discover this deeper meaning as they look through the series. Just as I had on my journey.

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Are we the aliens on an alien planet?

We feel our surroundings for something familiar to relate to, but what if there's nothing familiar at all?

Do we then make the surroundings familiar to us?

I see a dog in the distance.

She came and presented herself to us.

She's beautiful but moving away from us.

The under currents are changing but I'm too distracted by her beauty to notice.

My neglect of the under currents have burst my bubble.

I don't understand and I'm unfamiliar.

I'm back to the same place where I first crashed.

Am I dreaming?

She's taken me in her arms.

I begin to understand what's causing the pain.

By her side.

I see things beyond the spectator.

She let me go.

I'm left alone to with a burst bubble.

All I can think about was her.

I realize the bubble was holding me back.

I want to make a promise with her.

By living my life outside the bubble.

I realized that she had always been close and familiar.

The land wasn't alien, but we created a bubble to see things alien.

This was our home after all.