SHADOWMAN

Shadows of me – what are they? are they reality?

Shapes according to the sun’s angle – fat, short, elongated, aetiolated, mark of my presence – seen by me, but who else sees?

Shadow and Substance. The Shadow is meant to follow the Substance – and learn from him.

But the Substance also can learn from the Shadow – that he can be different, can be seen in a different light, can be bigger or smaller than actuality or reality.

Immensity of scale – distance from the sun – effects of the shadow on immediate surroundings. The picture/image that is captured.

My tiny shadow on crater rim (Mount Eden, Auckland, NZ) or huge, elongated shadow in bird park in winter southern hemisphere (Auckland) or in autumn-coloured leafy back road in Leatherhead, Surrey (with comforting pipe sticking out).

I am a gnomon on the crater rim, marking the time as the sun moves round

Shadow that is captured by the substance, taken prisoner, shown off  to the world.

changing – swapping roles.

Being some BODY else

WHAT is a shadow?

Shadow is shade, a shield from the light, not an absence of light but a contrast to full sunlight. You cannot avoid a shadow. Shadows are cast by a shape of a substance or solid matter, according to the angle of the sun in the sky. Shadow gives definition to an object, which is why, when there is no sunlight, there are no shadows and everything looks uniformly grey and dull. In other words there is an absence of colour. Shadows are cooling and sheltering and make colours contrast.

Shadows are an illusion.

Shadows distort a solid substance into weird and confusing, even frightening, shapes, but they are harmless, ephemeral and intangible.

SHADOWMAN

Shadowman.
Man is a shield from the light
shadow a shade
is he here or is he gone?

Three things are needed for shadowman:
sun, sunlight and substance –
the shadow is meant to follow his substance and learn everything from him
but sometimes the substance learns from his shadow
that he can be bigger, smaller, a different person, have a different perspective
from reality
according to his latitude in the world.

Absent shadow doesn’t mean absent substance
just absent sunlight

My shadow follows me at all times
when the sun is out

My substance tells me what to do
when the sun is out.

I AM SHADOWMAN.

What time is it?
the carved stone cat lies low and immutable on her wall
watching visitors
and mice she’ll never catch.

SHE WON’T TELL YOU.

Look for the  sundial’s tiny gnomon
at 1.00 o’clock
on Eden’s far crater rim.

Shadowman is there.

look for the comforting pipe
at 2.30pm
in a russet lane in southern Britain.

Shadowman is there.

Look for the stretched, long man’s legs
at  3.00 o’clock in the afternoon
in Auckland’s winter bird park.

Shadowman is there.

Am I, do I exist?
The angle of the sun and the distorted shadow on the ground
confirms your existence
(if you believe you ARE)
when the sun is out.

Intangible, ephemeral, marking your presence
with a colorful, ominous sharpness.
Shadows play tricks on your mind
frighten and confuse
merging together, cancelling out
twisting and deceiving.

Wild animals appear and disappear
in dappled tropical sunlight.

Is it real? Is it moving? Is it there?
Is it dangerous? Am I here?
Is it hidden and menacing
or revealed and harmless?

IS IT AN ILLUSION?

Do I exist? What is EXISTENCE?

Shadows help to answer
to a certain extent
but there will always be equivocation
insinuation and imagination
interpretation and ambiguity
when shadows come.

I AM THEREFORE I THINK

I THINK THEREFORE I EXIST
I EXIST THEREFORE I AM AND THINK
 I AM THEREFORE I EXIST.

I EXIST.

I HAVE A SHADOW, THEREFORE I HAVE A SUBSTANCE
THEREFORE I MUST EXIST?

Yes.

I DON’T HAVE A SHADOW, THEREFORE I DON’T EXIST?

NO –

ABSENT SHADOW DOESN’T MEAN ABSENT SUBSTANCE

JUST ABSENT SUNLIGHT.

.c Tim Taylor 2013