Subject or Object?
We are lost, stuck in the routine in the middle of nowhere, stuck in the Earth as those who cannot perceive the moment that cannot see us. We accept everything as a matter and exploit their souls, feelings, and moments. In the end, we nullify objects with ourselves. As Antonioni said, ‘’ I believe that we have feelings towards objects. It is yet one more way of grabbing to life.”, The way to truly exist is to able to perceive feelings, thought, emotions and look at them instead of pretending to be nothing. Thus, we can see not only them, but ourselves as well, perceive who we are, otherwise, at the end of the day, we will be nothing like Giovanni and Piero. When we stop seeing things as mere matter, we will recognize their past and present and see them as real objects, because they are, but because of our blindness, we cannot recognize their souls and feelings and become selfish. Now is the time to wake up, let us see how things we call objects become subjects. Let us witness how anything we call an object comes to life with a voice from nature.
Before depicting the scene, I want it to be reminded that silence is also its sound. The middle of nowhere may not be a place where nothing happens. A place where everyone is but integrated into nothingness can also be the middle of nothingness. Imagine a place where people meet the sea in a crowded part of the city, where the sky is on top and waves of the water meet the sea with a three-step ladder sometimes wetting that ladder. This environment we have dreamed of history, maybe someone came and went to this environment, maybe two people who knew each other met and continued on their way without talking, one day it rained a lot, the waves hit the stairs hard, let us feel the past with all these possibilities. Then let us get to this moment waves hit the ladder every time they collide. You can feel the sun, wind, and moisture at the same time. The sun does not burn you, the wind does not chill. There is a slight sea scent and humidity, but none of them overwhelm you, on the contrary, you can feel the balance of everything. The blue of the clear sky with the clouds and the blue of the sea are in a very impressive harmony with each other. The seawater is dispersing, some of it wet the ladder, some hits another place, and some returns to the sea. Again, the waves are rising. This time the wave is more intense and the effect of the wave is more felt time. At the same time, the seagulls are circling on the concrete and the ladder, the more the seagulls hit their wings with each impact of the waves. The sounds of seagulls are added to the sound of the waves, then the waves slow down, the stairs do not get wet and we feel the calmness. A seagull is positioned in one of the concrete, the other seagull is placed on the other concrete. Seagulls watch around. They look at each other and accompany them on the ladder between their gazes. What is felt in this scene should not be the emptiness of the environment, dear reader. There is something to be told here, but there is a lot to be said. Maybe we complain about what we cannot say, screaming, but can we perceive what we see? I’m going to tell you what was meant to be told, let’s see if we can really hear the atmosphere or are we still being tested with soullessness. After a while, calm waves turn into rough waves, the intensity of the sound increases. We move from calm to bad temper, then the birds are added to this revolt and they start to shout if they want to say or not. And each time they flap their wings furiously. Then, this bad temper starts to get tired and silent due to this fight. Both the sea and the birds are starting to silent in sync. They come to rest in calmness again. Then all of a sudden, these two seagulls are looking at each other. They find this moment in each other’s eyes. In this scene, we can see both anger, fatigue, and calmness at the same time. Just like feeling, reacting, and then moving on with your life. Is this place just a place now? Or is it such a brave subject to show his feelings perhaps more vivid than yours? Who knows, maybe this is much more lifeless than what you see.
Now, let’s just imagine the sound of the waves with the described place. A boy comes and sits on the ladder, takes a stone in his hand, and angrily throws a stone into the sea. The sound of waves and the sound of the stone falling into the sea, the sound of the child throwing the stone all become one and a deep moment occurs here. The child reflects his angry feelings by throwing the stone into the sea, adding those emotions to the sounds of the waves. Now the sound of the wave is no longer just the sound of waves, it is combined with the child’s feelings and emotions. Do you think this place is like the first one? Isn’t it intertwined with what has happened or what can be lived, or what can and cannot be lived? It is not the same as before, because, with these possibilities, he became a completely different person, he created himself in all these possibilities and experiences, now he is much bigger, much more mature. Changing things are alive and have souls. They have created themselves. all that remains for us is to see and perceive what they have created.
In conclusion, in the silence came the sound of waves, the sound of seagulls. The voices heard increased in layers as we thought. While the effects of all of them were different, they combined with other interpretations together. With each added natural sound, the sound of the wave gave another feeling and made another experience felt. The moment we saw it, we started to look different than before, I hope that now we understand what they are trying to say. Since we understand, they are not subjects, we can perceive them because they are subjects. Touch the souls so as not to get lost again, feel them, their past, the present, and what might happen.
Let’s see if this place you imagine matches with the one in the photo, I tried to explain the moment I added at the bottom.
Photo By: Eda Nur Sakallı
