STEFANO BALMA
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
"Sati Vana"
The Forest of Awareness
“Sati Vana” emerges from a personal interpretation of the Beigua Natural Park as a place of introspection and transformation.
The area, situated between sea and mountain, is inhabited by vast beech forests often shrouded in mist, which gives them an atmosphere suspended between dream and waking.
It is in this liminal place, between interiority and exteriority, that the beech trees take on the appearance of "arboreal entities"—personifications of emotional states with which it is possible to establish relationships that go beyond simple observation.
These encounters are not always pleasant; indeed, they are often disturbing and destabilizing.
Nature reveals itself as a complex interlocutor, capable of reflecting and amplifying our inner tensions.
Interacting in this dimension, where it is unclear what forces one is confronting, makes it possible to experience those moments of crisis where convictions and preconceptions collapse, triggering processes of inner transformation that allow us to investigate reality more deeply.
All of this is "Sati," which in the Buddhist tradition means "awareness"—the key to understanding the profound nature of every phenomenon.
Nature in "Sati Vana" is neither benevolent nor purifying; rather, it is often dangerous and unsettling. But this offers us a space of investigation to recognize what manifests within and outside of us, as part of a continuously changing flow.
Photographic Narrative
The series alternates two types of images: trees portrayed as living entities and abstract shots. The latter, created using intentional camera movement and multiple exposure techniques, aim to represent those transitory moments of transformation, where reality "dematerializes" to reappear in other forms.
The phrases that accompany the photos are "Kōan" (公案). In the Chinese Buddhist tradition (Chan), the practitioner meditates on paradoxical questions and stories, used to transcend rational thought and stimulate deeper awareness. I invite you not to try to solve these questions, nor to find meaning in them. Rather, let them resonate in your mind while you look at the images.
Observe what arises and... let go.
"What is the Way?"
"A man who falls into the well with open eyes"
"You look at me and remain in your own shadow, wondering why it ever gets dark."
"Where were you before you were born?"
"What was there before the first thought?"
"You can bring the thirsty tree to the river, but if it doesn't drink for itself, it will die."
"A millipede lived peacefully and calmly until it wondered in what order it put its feet one after another. From that moment on, it could never move again."
"I have no peace of mind. Please calm it for me."
"Bring me your mind and I will pacify it."
"But when I search for my mind, I cannot find it."
"There! I have pacified your mind."
"What is this."
"If you desire the great stillness, prepare to sweat green leaves."
"Without words and without silence, explain to me what reality is." The master punched him in the face.
"Do the leaves move or is the wind that moves?"
