Things I Find Beautiful: an Online Exhibition

We are so pleased to be hosting this online exhibition of photos taken and curated by 2020-21 mentee, Mutiat, with the support of her mentor, Amelia.

We hope that these photos, and the words beneath them, will move you and help you to find the beauty around you.

Mutiat: Things I find beautiful is about seeing the beauty that surrounds us in our everyday life, being more aware of our surroundings, and finding the beautiful things in our community as we go about our daily lives.

I put together this collection of pictures from my everyday — from going out and being more aware of things I could find during my walk through the park or when I was out shopping, strolling out of boredom, or trying to find some inner peace and quiet.

Some of these pictures have deeper meaning for me and some of them are things I just find simply beautiful.

So enjoy and I hope that this helps you to also look around you and find something meaningful and beautiful every day.

1. Pathway

Mutiat: Two sides going through time but not submitting to the same change. On this pathway the trees on one side are completely green while the other side is changing for autumn. This to me shows how things, just like people, react to change differently, some submit and give in to it while some resist it and, in the process, resist the opportunity for growth and rebirth.

Amelia: The world about to turn upside down. Despite the seeming calmness of this quiet path, there is an overwhelming sense of impending change. The leaves — at least some of them — are about to fall, the path about to curve into the unknown, and a lone figure about to emerge from the distance.

2. Autumn Colors

Mutiat: Walking the dog on a beautiful autumn day. Fresh air colors all around.

Amelia: Even though the leaves are falling, this moment feels so full of life and colour.

3. The Bridge

Mutiat: When I was walking through the park and I saw this flimsy looking bridge my first thought was to turn around and to look for a different route because to me it felt like once I stepped on that bridge it would fall apart but then on second thought I decided to take a chance at this flimsy bridge and on the other side was a very beautiful space full of trees and greenery that I may never have discovered if I had taken another route, and that taught me that we may never know what lies beyond our comfort zone if we never take a chance at the flimsy bridges and overcome the fear of the unknown.

Amelia: A journey — where we’re coming from and where we’re going. Even though I’ve never visited this bridge, all I want to do is step onto it, hear its creak and see what is beyond the twisting branches.

4. The Lonely Chair

Mutiat: Sitting here all by myself in the cold of winter, I remember a time when I would curse the heavy behind of those that would sit on me like they would never go home, but as I stay rooted here all by myself through the cold days and the lonely nights I can’t help but long for the season that brings back those who give me some warmth and comfort even though they suffocate me sometimes.

Amelia: Patience. Endurance. A stand off. Defiance. A bench; a person. Enveloped by the looming trees. Enfolded, but never threatened.

5. The Graveyard

Mutiat: Walking through the graveyard I am reminded to love and live and never lose sight of what is important because we never know what day is the last. It’s a place of tranquillity where everyone is equal.

Amelia: The importance of finding colour in darkness. In graveyards there are so many stories to be found, be they joyful, tragic, eventful, or quiet. When we see their colour, we see the colour of our own story.

6. The Falling Tree

Mutiat: Two trees, rooted together through time, one standing one struggling. A story relative to human existence, which suggests that perhaps we are not so different from the nature around us. 

Amelia: Pushing and pulling towards and against each other. A London winter Capoeira.

7. The Tree Trunk

Mutiat: I was drawn to this tree trunk because of its color. It  looks like a popular fabric design in Africa called the ADIRE.

Amelia: The way the colours bleed into one another in this image is so beautiful.

8. The Red Path

Mutiat: The onset of winter and a little drama, kind of reminds me of the Little Red Riding Hood.

Amelia: There’s something both eerie and comforting about this scene. A story about to unfold.

9. The Sleeping Bird

Mutiat: A pigeon having a quick nap.

Amelia: This really encapsulates this winter, and wanting to burrow into yourself until brighter and warmer times.

10. The Swan

Mutiat: Grace, elegance and beauty. The swan is beautiful and it knows it. 

Amelia: The ripples, dips, and swirls of the pond all link back to the swan, who is at the very centre of this little world.

11. Cute Little Dog

Mutiat: This dog’s face reminds me of days when I just want to pull up the covers and sleep all day.

Amelia: I just want to reach through the picture and give this dog a good rub.

12. Brown Dog

Mutiat: It is a beautiful thing how loyal a dog can be no matter how mean it looks. 

Amelia: I relate to every fold, line and crease in this dog’s face.

13. Christmas

Mutiat: That time of year when all is bright and colorful.

Amelia: The colours, textures, and smudges of the wall remind me of a palette of paint.

14. Bird on the Wall

Mutiat: Just a beautiful mural reminding us to go out and seek for our daily bread.

Amelia: Art is all around us. Sometimes artists reclaim a brick wall as their canvas and sometimes we create art ourselves simply by being there, by witnessing it all.

15. Empty Park

Mutiat: Life in the wake of Covid, dark, lonely and scary. But there  is always the beautiful sky with the promise of a new dawn.

Amelia: The softness of the light hitting the path is so gentle and welcoming - it’s a path I’d like to take.

For more information about the Routes Mentoring Programme, click here or get in touch!

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