I was watching a favorite film to remember a beloved actor who had unexpectedly died. I needed to check on the no-icing cupcakes I was baking and so pressed pause without thinking much about it. When I came back to the film the screen in front of me was captured in the most beautiful image, spontaneously, simply because I needed to get up and check the oven.
It struck me that this is how life works. The most beautiful moments are created spontaneously simply in the course of living our lives. It also struck me how rich forms of detailed and produced art such as film and television are interrupted by the most mundane of our actions, the basic human necessities to eat, use the bathroom, take a phone call, treat the dog. I was captivated, and started taking photos and noting what action I had taken that had caused the pause that created the image.
When I began to edit the images and add the captions, they reminded me of those inspirational posters that have a stunning photo, black border, and white caption. These are designed to motivate us to do something or be something other than what we currently are. The images in Pause are the opposite. They catalogue what I am right at this moment without trying, existence without effort.
