The Photopoet Self-Portrait – a World of Insecurities and Contradictions - thePhotoPoetryBook Fusion of fine art photography and poetry.

The Photopoet Self-Portrait – a creative world built out of contradictions and insecurities, exploring life in the search of the truth and true purpose

It took me one week to create this image but it took me more than three years to write the poem, until I’ve reached the final version, and it took me even more time to be comfortable sharing it.

In 2019 it won a photography contest and took part in a Fine Art Photography group exhibition in Greece, you can read about it here, but obviously wasn’t enough validation for me to make me confident to share my work. I was proud of my work because I succeeded in finishing the work, but I didn’t need others’ opinions, knowing how much effort and work I have put into this image.

At this point, I have been writing poetry all my life and taking photographs for a long time, but I was learning to write my poems in English, not being my mother tongue language, learning to compose and edit an image of self-portraiture, and trying to find a way to fit my written poem in the frame, to be part of the image.

- It makes me wonder: where does all this insecurity come from?
- Why is it so hard to share your work as a creator?
- What makes us so vulnerable when we create truly from the heart?
- Why is it so difficult to accept the fact that our contradictions are the striking difference of what we feel and what we should, what we know, and what they tell us?

2019 © DACIANA LIPAI | The Photopoet Self-Portrait

“I am an open heart trapped in-between dark and red.

I am the image hunter of my own whimsical madness.

I am the butcher of emotions thrown into painterly words.

I am the dream maker of my own love fairytale.

I am an artist of deep passion in this forgotten world.”

My fear went in two directions. One was the fear of being judged, mostly by my acquaintances, of doing something new and non-sense, and on the other direction, I was afraid, after all this work, my work won’t be recognized, accredited and my ideas will be copied.

I got over those fears when I realized that whatever I will do, my work will always be judged by those who don’t understand, and when my work got trashed and copied, by people who I once admired. Well now, it is called inspiration, and some have even written a book about it, how to steal like an artist. In all of your works, you follow your unique vision, trying to find your voice, and create in an original style just to find out that this is just for others inspiration. It took me a lot of time to understand, accept and move forward.

The journey of a creator is a personal journey, is about the lessons you learn and how you grow and develop as an artist and person. It is about you and your journey, and how you learn to let go of the insecurities and embrace your contradictions.

Feel free to share this with your art lover friends or with anyone who can use a nice word. Leave a comment or drop me a line. I would love to hear from you