Faith is an elusive, intangible, and simultaneously diverse in its form if you take into account one’s beliefs, cultural tendencies, and backgrounds. All that aside, I find the concept to be of an ecumenical nature with one ultimate goal, internal peace, and perhaps forgiveness or salvation. But what I have always found fascinating is the level of dedication and passion that is involved with the members of any particular dogma. Above all, the process of believing and becoming cathartic is always under construction. But the element that always exists and is universal both in religion but also in our interactions with others, as well as the photographic frame, is the perseverance. I find this to be inherently ingrained within all disciples, to the photographic medium, to faith and love, to the idea of a higher power, whatever that might be. You see the symbolism in front yards, parking lots, and a sandy beach in the Motherland, transformed into an ancient beauty.
“In Faith”, Peckville, Penn., ©Niko J. Kallianiotis
This is not a conversation about any particular religion but more so about the parameters and implicit associations and effects of the energy that exists backstage; it’s metaphorical phantasmagorical links that pertain to the core of its foundation; and to me, that foundation is confession and a testament of beliefs. Beliefs that are expressed in words, emotions, or are a conglomeration of forms, light, and atmosphere. Every time you press the shutter you are expressing beliefs, concerns, and emotions; allegories that could not be spoken in words. It is not possible to achieve this every time you make a photograph, because reality obstructs your dreams and desires, and what is necessary, for you. But what if what you don’t have is actually what you need? What if what you need is testified unconsciously within a frame, speaking to you about internal obligations of expression, or the need thereof?
Amidst a ferocious contemporary society, I strive to take a step back but those fifty steps forward and the need of a greater dialogue lead the way on their own terms. Sitting on the bench of contemplation, whether in front of a Cross in Peckville, Pennsylvania, or by the calm waters of the sea, we have all sat on that bench, maybe together or alone, thinking and improvising with words or emotions, hoping that eventually someone will listen and decipher on their own terms. Just as in the belief that a photograph can equal a thousand words, it isn’t, it’s one word - a confession.