How does the image shake the depths?!
“I don’t know why a photograph shakes the depths when you look at it, especially if it is from decades or centuries ago, where it seems to provoke all your senses and emotions,” someone said—I no longer remember his name. “When the photographer presses the shutter, he does not capture a scene; rather, he cuts out a piece of space-time and places it on the shelf. In contrast, a video image has always remained less intense and profound. In a video, a tear falls and is forgotten, causing the viewer to forget its warmth. But in a photograph, the tear is suspended in the air forever; it neither dries up to comfort the soul nor falls to bring the mourning to an end. I believe this eternal freezing is what shakes the depths, because it places us in direct confrontation with suffering. A photograph is an abstraction of reality, whereas a video is an accumulation of it. A video explains everything, filling the gaps with sound and movement, turning the recipient into a passive consumer. A photograph, on the other hand, exerts an ‘eloquent silence’ upon you, leaving you free to respond to such provocation. It is like someone handing you a key while leaving the door closed, perhaps inviting you to confront this imaginary act. A question arises: where did this gaze come from? And what happened after this frame? This cognitive void is what stirs stagnant souls. A video gives you the story, but a photograph gives you existence in its purest form. A video is a torrential river, flowing to compensate for the absence of yesterday with the presence of tomorrow. It is like someone chattering about time, consuming movement, and inviting you to watch life dying and renewing in every frame. It is continuous time, during which the soul busies itself with the details of succession, leaving you no space to contemplate how deep the wound is, or vice versa. It is a sudden blow to the wall of consciousness. In contrast, a video consumes your sight, while a photograph draws out your insight. Emotions in a video are fleeting, like our days, but in a photograph, they are fixed and enduring, contemplating you as much as you contemplate them. It transforms a deliberate moment into an eternal trace, proving that the deepest aspects of life do not require movement to be understood, but rather a moment of intense attention to be experienced. A video narrates the story, while a photograph distills the truth and shakes the depths. Nasser Al-Abduli
