The Dark Wed
THE DARK WED
MY DARK SIDE
“The Dark Wed” is my dark side. The side I don’t often show, but it’s there, it exists, and it persists, always. And every time I read phrases like “Amor vincit omnia,” a part of me dies, the deepest, most creative, most authentic part, while my dark side survives. But why does this happen to me? Because it’s a phrase that represents, more than anything else, what banality applied to the realm of marriage means. Banality is indeed a real evil, and there are no excuses, no reasons, no exceptions. Those in a creative profession, so to speak, know what I’m talking about, because they’ve been given a very specific mission: to fight this evil by any legitimate means available, solely to set things right with the universe.
AMOR NON VINCIT OMNIA
Who said that love conquers all? When Virgil wrote, “omnia vincit amor: et nos cedamus amori” (meaning “love conquers all: let us too yield to love”), would he have ever imagined that, more than two millennia later, a distorted version of his phrase would be used by wedding vendors to self-promote and advertise their work? I don’t think so. I mean, one of the greatest Latin poets reduced to some sort of generic formula, a copy-and-paste material for lazy captions? I certainly hope not.
Anyway, The Dark Wed is the breeding ground for my quirky creations. This is who I am. I can’t stand banality, and I imbue this approach into my photographs.
THE DARK SIDE OF THE WEDDING INDUSTRY
Now, I must admit that I went to see who had written this mythical phrase. I didn’t remember (or perhaps I never knew?) even the slightest bit about its origin, nor was I aware that the phrase had been distorted in the social media centrifuge and by the banality sold by the kilo. But ultimately, is it really important for The Dark Wed project? I don’t think so. What matters is that we must not overlay the beauty that surrounds us with the banality of clichéd phrases. I just won’t play that game. But not because I feel superior. For me, it’s truly painful to read about “your most important day,” about how there’s always this LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.
Wherever “love reigns,” because love is above all else and, precisely, love conquers all, there’s only banality. It’s one of the great laws of the universe. And the universe never errs. It always hits the spot.
GRAVITY ALWAYS WINS – THE DARK WED
I’ve always thought that gravity wins over everything, not love. For me, for my work, for my personal quest, what matters isn’t celebrating love, which I’m not particularly interested in. Or, to put it more accurately, I’m only marginally interested in it. Life is too short to be confined within the clichés of Perugina kisses.
But why do I have such an issue with banality? Actually, I don’t care much about fighting it. I’m not serious when I say it’s absolute evil. Like everything else, it’s all subjective. Even the judgment of what’s truly banal and what isn’t. That’s why the same rule always applies: everyone is free to choose what represents them the most. If you like to let LOVE win all the time, then it means, for you and only you, love will always triumph.
For me, on the contrary, and paraphrasing a great French author, love is infinity lowered to the level of poodles. And I know at least a couple of million shades to narrate your day. You do you.
