Arbiters and jugglers of emphasis and illusion, their time based negotiations take place against a background of unending instants and latent possibilities. Uniquely they execute the mirror dance to multiple refrains. Levitating beyond the democratic milieu, the rigor is theirs to direct the mirror’s stare: to identify and declare, to flatter or distort, to distill or condense, to extract or submerge. The instant recedes, a mark remains, an indelible residue, an evidenced moment, the last remaining arguable truth distilled through the lens of insight and exactitude.

The glare can be great when the mirror is turned and the flickering sheet is lifted. Conscious of the alchemy and the conjuror’s tricks, some seek the shelter of the shadows while others advance to embrace the light of another, their all-knowing submission a valorous act. The past faith of others is now transmitted. Trust is proffered as a devout unspoken understanding is enacted.

The returning shadows invite extraction; they seek to live anew on each consideration of the person and the practice. While there can be no fixed and immovable outcome or perception, nevertheless clues remain alluding to context and intent. Consider for a moment the role and importance of these harvesters of time and experience, avid interpreters and chroniclers of lives, events and places. Salute them as we stand before their reflections, their honed mirrors a conduit to a wider and richer passing world.

Clive Hutchison