guest room: christine marie serchia & charlotte jansen

Guest Room aims to inspire collaboration and creative exchange. In this edition, Christine Serchia, partners with British Sri Lankan author, journalist and critic Charlotte Jansen.

Together, they introduce the theme for your submissions:

"The Dark Before Dawn"

"'It's always darkest before the dawn' – so goes an old proverb, an adage that seems apt for our times. The metaphor is meaningful too in photography in a literal sense, in the darkroom where, from nothing, an image suddenly, alchemically appears, where light is a precious resource to be used purposefully and with care. Yet without the dark, there would be no contrast. Chiaroscuro masters of the Italian Renaissance understood well. Photography too, relies on contrast, but also bears witness and makes visible what the darkness cannot conceal. In bringing to light what we hold dear and true, we seek out ways in which photography brings light in the darkest moments. We welcome work that challenges the idea of where and how the light can be found, and experiments with evoking magic, levity and hope. This is a collective exploration of how, even in difficult times, photography reminds us that it is both the darkness and the light that allow us to see."