Originally published on Photoblog by Gethin Thomas JULY. 14, 2020
I entered a Guardian Camera Club project "Conceptual Photography" some years ago to create six pictures to represent a favourite book. I chose Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.
"This is a very involving set, strongly rooted in an alternate reality." The Guardian
1. "Making that cat's cradle was the closest I ever saw my father come to playing what anybody else would call a game." I actually froze a cat's cradle into a block of ice to do this.
2. "These are not Bokonon's words. They are mine. My soles, my soles! My soul, my soul." The soles of the feet are significant in the religion of Bokononism.
3. "The seed taught the atoms the novel way in which to stack and lock, to crystallize, to freeze." This is the geodesic dome of the Eden Project which I had just visited. I thought it apt that the roof of Eden reminded me of crystals of ice, that brought about the end of the world.
4. "It was a grand AH-WHOOM. I opened my eyes, and all the sea was ice-nine." Fossils frozen in ice rather than rock. Ice nine destroyed all life on the planet. These fossils were some patterned flooring I found.
5. "Nothing in this book is true. The inventor of ice nine was playing with a cat's cradle when the bomb he helped to design exploded over Hiroshima." Ice nine would later cause the world to freeze.
6. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. This is the image as I saw it for the final scenes in the book where the Earth turns to ice. A crystal of "ice nine" escapes into the environment and freezes all the water on the planet. I have a cat's cradle just visible, frozen into the ice.
Use this link to see the Guardian review. Guardian Camera Club: Gethin Thomas on conceptual photography
"Gethin Thomas participates in the conceptual photography assignment" Kurt Vonnegut's novel 'Cat's Cradle' forms the seed of these images; '1' freezes a 'cats cradle' into a block of ice to make an abstract image; '2' shows the imprint of feet, in sand. '3' is a perfect combination of natural and man-made forms; '4' is perfect and monochromatic imaginary landscape. '5' is a fascinating view into the ice; '6' becomes the perfect combination of the elements so far pictured. This is a very involving set, strongly rooted in an alternate reality.
Fri 1 Jun 2012 09.45 BST
Exceptionally well done - love Vonnegut and your interpretation.
This is really a very strong post, both as far as the images as well as the commentaries. Whether I have seen it before or not, is insignificant. The entire post made me really ponder. Your intrepretations...exquisite!