Solitude (noun): the quality or state of being alone or far-off from society.
“In this journey called life, some of us become painfully aware of our own existence and the characters we have to become to be accepted by our fellow human beings. Whether it’s in a specific social circle, a working environment or even in your own family, you realise that you are not the same as everyone else, and as soon as you decide to stop playing this game that those around you have found comfort in, you become an outcast.
It’s subtle at first–it always is–you notice that they don’t “think” the way you do. Even with those you’ve come to love, you know there is this “difference” between you and them. Over time you start to feel like an island, one no one can find because they do not sail the ocean of life the way you do.
I have felt like this ever since I was a child. Alone. n solitude. But for the longest time I could never give life to those feelings, I just knew felt them. With growth and maturity came self-reflection and understanding that I had a voice. I had things I wanted to say but words were not enough for me. Fortunately the universe was kind enough to grant me the gift of photography.
At first I had no direction, I was a child looking through the frame, attempting to capture magic but never satisfied with what I produced. Then I decided to study the masters who came before me. Henri Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene Smith, and Fan Ho. These were men who gave life to their voices through photography. I sought to do the same.
I spent about a year trying to capture this feeling that has latched onto my soul. In that year I produced images that say more than I’ll ever be able to with words.
There is peace in solitude, a stillness that calms me; there is no noise, no chaos, no performance. In solitude, you see everything for what it is, not what you want it to be. Sometimes it may bring you peace and sometimes it may be uncomfortable, but it is always honest.
Luigi Arnat is a Namibian photographer and aspiring full-time artist. Using the experience he has acquired from working in multiple jobs in the service industry he has developed an understanding of the human condition and the things that make us all tick. His aim is to find his voice through art and its many mediums to be able to tell the stories only he knows how.