Reflections on Shetland

The Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland are a place far away from many things. From the British mainland and everything British, from stress of modern life, from university work. So it seems to be the perfect place to take a breather from film and radio projects. It was, but while walking over windy country roads, taking skinny dips in ice-cold rivers, kayaking on the foggy and standing on mountain tops at 5am the creative stream of consciousness can hardly rest. In fact, more ideas than ever were sparking.

What's great about being away from production meetings and editing suites, is that the mind can float in this pleasant state of inspired relaxedness. Go anywhere without having to go anywhere. Float without arriving. In this sense, the mind is a curious space of creativity as ideas might be there, ready to be developed or already developed, but they might never leave this space, never be uttered. It is a sort of self-satisfying non-expression. I don't think all art has to leave the mind space. You can be your own audience sometimes.

Those that make it out are a sort of reflection of what I see. The mind reflects, mediates it, and puts it into a poem, a photograph, a film - a newly discovered sea, lake, puddle in which reality is reflected.