Embers over the Billabong Deeper into the scrub, darkness thickens, steeped in a heavy, ember-red glow. Overhead, the canopy dissolves into silhouettes, twisted paperbark and gum branches clawing through an atmosphere that smoulders with charcoal grit and iron dust. Then, the bush yields to water. Nestled in the basin of the scrub, a still billabong collects the night in an entirely different register. While the air above blazes raw crimson, the surface below gathers cool, luminous pools of cobalt, indigo, and shattered violet. For a moment, the outback’s heat seems suspended. There is only the quiet breathing of timber, the mirrored water holding the dark, and ancient country resting at the threshold between fire and stone. Be Creative and Innovative with Knowledge John Bennett - AKA JJFBbennett , is an independent artist. You can view and subscribe to my work via Blogger , YouTube , Flicker , Facebook , Instagram and Deviant Art . Subscribe to JJFBbennett's pri...
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Our Fortunate Lives
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
-
The Future of Romanticism
And then, a fracture. The past whispered to them in the quiet of a gilded hall, surrounded by splendour too perfect to be accurate. It was a song—fragile, ephemeral—a thread of memory tugging at their hearts. Its notes were humble and unassuming, yet they carried the weight of the cottage, the dusty beams, and the worn rug where their dream first sparked.
In the echoing chambers of memory, where shadows dance with the remnants of dreams, a woman's thoughts drift to a simpler time, a life painted with the warm hues of shared laughter and humble aspirations.
Beside her, a man's gaze pierces the veil of the present, his mind fixated on the ever-distant horizon of ambition, each achievement a stepping stone to a grander vision.
Yet, in the quiet depths of their hearts, the echoes of their initial dreams, once whispered in the warmth of a shared space, still resonate with the same intensity, a testament to the enduring power of their intertwined ambitions.
"Do you remember the cottage?" she said.
"I do," he said. "The dust in the air, the way the light made it glow like gold... It felt alive, didn’t it?"
"It was alive," she said. "Because we were. Everything we touched felt real. It wasn’t about what we had; it was about what we dreamed."
"And we dreamed of this," he said, gesturing vaguely around them. "A life so vast, so full, it would drown out any doubt."
"But it hasn’t, has it?" she said. "The doubt is louder now than it ever was. It’s deafening."
"I hear it too," he said. "Every time I look at what we’ve built, it whispers that we’ve lost something more precious than we could ever gain."
"We lost ourselves," she said. "Or maybe we just left ourselves behind, somewhere back there, in the cottage, on that rug."
"Do you think we can go back?" he said.
"To the cottage?" she said. "No. The cottage is gone. But we can go back to what it meant. To what we were."
"And what were we?" he said.
"Believers," she said. "Not in wealth, not in power, but in each other. In life, we can create together, not apart."
"It’s strange," he said. "We’ve climbed so high, yet it feels like the ground is further away than ever."
"Because we stopped touching it," she said. "Stopped feeling it beneath our feet. And now, here we are, suspended in a life that feels... weightless."
"Weightless and empty," he said.
"But it doesn’t have to stay that way," she said.
"Do you really believe that?" he said.
"I do," she said. "Because I still hear the song. Do you?"
"The one from the cottage?" he said. "I thought I’d forgotten it. But now... now I think it’s been playing all along."
"It has," she said. "We just stopped listening. But if we can hear it again, we can follow it. It’s never too late."
"And if we follow it?" he said.
"Maybe we’ll find what we lost," she said. "Not the past, but the part of ourselves we left there."
"Together?" he said.
"Always together," she said.
Hand in hand, they turned towards the veiled horizon, and their intertwined ambitions became more determined by the bittersweet wisdom of experience. The future, a vast and unwritten canvas, stretched before them, promising both the thrill of discovery and the ache of uncertainty. With each step, they embraced the unknown, their hearts echoing with the quiet understanding that the pursuit of meaning was a dance with destiny, a journey that would forever wind through the ever-shifting landscapes of their fortunate lives.
This artwork is protected by U.S. and International copyright laws. Distribution and/or modification of the artwork without written permission of the sponsor is prohibited.
Every stop is a story - Darwin to Adelaide River The Adelaide River Rupture The storm did not break over the Adelaide River plains; rather, reality tore open along the track. To the left, the familiar Top End landscape clung fiercely to its quiet melancholy. A lone gum tree stood sentinel over the charred scrub and dry earth, its leaves catching the last bruised light of a brooding wet-season sky. In the hollow below, the old fictional homestead crouched beside the rutted dirt road, enduring the heavy stillness that always settles before the atmosphere ruptures. Then came the tear. It began not with thunder, but with an overwhelming, luminous heat that shredded the grey overcast into molten ribbons. You could feel the vortex of raw energy sweeping through radiant ambers, searing cadmium oranges, and blinding celestial whites. The vortex descended like a folded dimension brushing against the earth. Where the atmospheric rift touched the ground, the landscape blurred into fierce gestura...
The infected touching antiquity Do you feel divinity when you touch antiquity? Metamodernist art by JJFBbennett Stand before a marble relic, and you find yourself at the threshold of contact. The museum enforces detachment. Do you feel the decay and contamination your hands carry? But what happens when your flesh touches ancient stone? To reach out is an act of somatic friction. Our mortal residue, sebaceous oils and living warmth, ruptures the sterile illusion of the untainted idol. We drag the pristine monument down into the mess of human mortality. Yet, the instinct to touch is an innate longing for connection. Laying bare skin against ancient form collapses millennia, sparking a euphoric link to what came before. Touch restores, renews, and opens an otherworldly portal beyond everyday perception. Touching antiquity infects its distant divinity with our decay, but in that very transgression, it bridges the void—granting the seeker genuine transport into transcendent awe. Marks...
JJFBbennett travels to Taiwan Navigating the Metamodern City: Reflections from Taiwan What happens when ancient culture, vertical hyper-modernity, and raw street-level life collide through a traveller's lens? In my short video series exploring Taiwan—from the rain-slicked avenues of Taipei to the summit of Taipei 101 and the quiet contemplation of Liberty Square—travel becomes more than just sightseeing. It becomes an inquiry into metamodernism, architecture, art, and the everyday rituals that anchor our lives. Get ready for some serious wanderlust! I'm diving into JJFBbennett's incredible adventures as he explored Taiwan's stunning islands. Follow along on a journey that captures everything from Taipei's bustling energy to the historic elegance of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. Experience the trip through a vibrant travel photo library and an exciting video playlist that brings the entire destination to life. It’s an unforgettable look at Taiwan that will hav...
Comments
Post a Comment