The story behind this image starts with a question, what’s the significance of these? The answer was, there is no significance, they’re just tiny little plastic ducks. The common misconception that there needs to be a reason or a deeper meaning to everything to you see and feel can sometimes rob us of the joy of the moment. In the same way, some people can simply exist in the form that feels natural to them, there’s no agenda or threat there, they are just being themselves.
Digital photographic image printed on Hahnemühle German Etching photographic paper
Image Size: 8*8 Inches
Single Edtion mounted print £200.00
It’s a deceptively simple photographic work, yet it subtly interrogates the theme of our wariness towards difference and our need to attach meaning. Rather than presenting a narrative laden with symbolism, the image’s very lack of overt meaning challenges the viewer’s expectations—why must every subject bear significance, and why do we so often seek to categorise or explain what stands outside of an individual’s perception of the norm?
The ducks, innocuous and unthreatening, become an allegory for those who exist beyond conventional boundaries. The initial question—what is their significance? —mirrors a societal impulse to scrutinise and assign purpose to anything perceived as different. This tendency can foster suspicion, discomfort, or even exclusion, as difference is too often conflated with danger or threat. Yet, the answer, that there is no hidden meaning, the ducks simply are—invites us to reconsider our preconceptions. In doing so, this work celebrates authenticity and presence, urging us to embrace the joy and spontaneity of the moment rather than projecting anxieties onto the unfamiliar. The work offers a subtle reflection on the beauty of being and encourages letting go of fear of difference.
This print comes ready mounted so you can take it to your own framer, or I can arrange to have this done for you. Just use the contact me button with an idea of the sort of framing you’re after and I can get you a quote.
