Upper School Art Gallery

Serenity
Black and White Silver Print

Photography allows me to view the world in a new light. Things are never how they seem. When we took an impromptu class trip to the graveyard, I was surprised to discover that among the tombstones, I was not creeped out at all as I’d imagined I might be. As I explored the wide expanse of grassy acres and stony works of art dedicated to the deceased, the respectful silence and calm of the cemetery seemed almost to enlighten me. The graveyard became a sort of haven as I serenely roamed among the gravestones, occasionally happening upon one of my equally calm and enlightened classmates. It was in this state of seeing things in a new light that I photographed this headstone. The looming stone had a somehow graceful presence in my new, tranquil eyes. And then I made it into a Sabattier print, and the gravestone, which I’d once imagined frightening, then had appeared gracefully appealing, became a dark, horrific shadow of itself, Mackie lines fiery in the background, sky dark and forbidding.

Hannah Page's Portfolio