The antithesis of the human experience has been undeniably exposed these last few weeks in the news media. The joy of the miners' rescue, a global fete to be sure, in juxtaposition with images and excerpts of horrific crimes - torture and death relived by the already mourning.
We sit, riveted to our screens by images of dramatic heroism and hope, accounts of elation and answered prayers. And we watch, averting our eyes perhaps, but largely unmoved, in horror, at the retelling of unspeakable acts and images of darkness and depravity, worst nightmares come alive.
I understand why the collective experience of watching the miners' rescue was so compelling. It's harder for me to understand why I feel drawn to absorb everything I can about things I do not want to know. This, another stark contrast, became so obvious to me this week, when I was faced with the face of Russell Williams.
The photography world defines contrast as the ratio of light to shadow. Perhaps it is somehow this idea of contrast that compels me to want to understand how such things can happen in the first place. And leaves me with a need to understand the light to shadow ratio not only in our world today but in the heart of someone like Russell Williams.
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