The Frozen River

by Elaine Newington Ward :: You need to be a member to contact artists →Join :: Portfolio

The picture was created to illustrate a book of poems about a fisherman. The poet decided not to publish and does not wish to be acknowledged.

The frozen winter alludes to the story of Liu Tsang Yuan who was banished from society. An old tramp battles with the elements to catch a fish in winter.

My photograph echoes the dark mood of the poem, the loneliness of the old man and the fire he lights in his inadequate shelter by the river. The darkness around the face emphasises the 'nowhere' of his existence and the red reflection the transience of the fire and the life he pursues in the contrasting snowy wilderness.