NOMAD TWO WORLDS exhibition

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the NOMAD TWO WORLDS exhibition with my friend V-.The photography, film and art exhibition was put together my Russell James, a talented Australian photographer, who has been working with Native American and Australian artists since the 1990s. It is meant as an attempt to bridge and understand the cultural divide in today's society, especially in Australia.

I arrived at the exhibition with my friend without high expectations, having only quickly looked at its website the night before. Situated in an old factory, the high ceilings and dim lighting leant an air of magic to the venue. The pictures, in contrast, were alive with bright colours of blue, red and orange. James and his fellow artists seem to share a love for photographing water, since there were several pictures shot from beneath the sea's surface, capturing a model swimming with dolphins. Every photograph had its own story and their themes were closely linked to the Aborgines' spiritual beliefs of spirits and the Dreaming.

The second part of the exhibition showed behind-the-scenes footage of James  photographing in Australia and the way the Aboriginal culture impacted his life. I remember him describing being ill throughout the journey, as he wasn't used to the calm and open way of life in Australia any more, since he had gotten used to New York's hectic ways.

This, I think, was also what moved us most about the exhibition. Working on the photographs, James had experienced a different way of life and a different way of seeing the cultural differences in his native country. The way he captures these feelings in his his photographs isnuniquely touching. There is such power and depth to his pictures that tugs at the heart.

It does not ofteh happen that a photograph has the power to truly flip the way one looks at life to the other side, but NOMAD TWO WORLDS made it happen for me.


Love, x

Why I started this blog

Now that I've stopped to think about it, I haven't actually explained why I'm doing this blog or why it's called My Box of Inspiration. A box is something I associate with treasure, like a chest of gold, something that you keep close to your heart. Everyone has a reason to keep moving forward in life, goals they want to achieve on that shadowy road lying ahead. Some wish to travel the world, others for the time to learn an instrument, and yet others for spiritual fulfillment.  Everyone has a different dream, and sometimes we discover different ones on the path that leads us there.

My goal in life is hard to put into words, it is the journey I am most interested in after all. I believe in seeing the beauty in the little things that inspire you to stay on that road. More than anything in the world, I love making things - food, jewellery, stories, poems, decorating, drawing ...
So this blog will be my personal box of inspiration right here.
And the first item I am placing inside it is:

 Have you ever dreamed of adventures in the Amazon Rainforest? I know I definitely have! This is the story of young orphan Maia, who journeys across the ocean from her home England to live with her relatives in Manaus. But her vision of a wonderfully exotic life is turned upside down when Maia meets the Carters and their twin daughters. Instead of greeting her with open arms, the twins are venemous, and Mr. and Mrs. Carter only interested in Maia's inheritance. Suddenly the lush green rainforest and the rushing river turn into a prison that isonly made bearable by Maia's governess Miss Minton and the kind Indian servants.
When Maia meets Finn, a mysterious boy who lives in the jungle, she discovers that life in the Amazon Rainforest, after all, is not a horrible as it may seem ...

I really, really adored this book when we read it for the first time in school. It's full of magic and love and Eva Ibbotson's wit and colourful descriptions really make the Amazon Rainforest come alive. Maia is a courageous and kind-heartedheroine, and the friends she makes throughout the novel are no less likeable.
Couldn't recommend this more! It proves that the greatest journey can also be made on the pages of a book.

Love, x

Strawberry summer moments.

Summer over here is slowly winding down, the rainy days are growing more frequent. Sometimes, walking through the busy streets on a summer night watching the city come alive feels so far away, almost as far as lying on my back in the sun, watching fluffy clouds shooting across the sky. And lifting my head to find that, yes, I am actually in a rowboat in the middle of a lake. And it's one of the best summer ... ever.

So I'll share with you one bit of food that to me encompasses all those summer moments: Devonshire scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream.