Darkness within Darkness

When I see this photograph, I involuntarily recall Oil Pool or Matter and Mind (1977) by Noriyuki Haraguchi at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art—a brilliant work whose black oily surface draws us deep into the blackness of thought. This piece is at the center of the museum, at its abyss. From the reflective surface, we descend into that center and that abyss.

But the photographer’s pool tells a very different story. The pool is not square. It is not full, though it is not empty either. And I wonder which half to look at—the empty half or the full half. I can say with certainty that it is not an oil pool. It is water—black water. A stagnant pool, or maybe a swamp. There is no reflection; what we see are remnants fallen into the water. The photographer boldly turned the frame slightly to the right so that we do not see the pool centered or entirely. The light illuminates the scene a little, but even this light is confined within darkness. The receding lines of the pool rush us into the depths of blackness. It is unclear where exactly the pool is. The pool is nowhere.

And darkness lies within darkness.