©Carson Zullinger
Cassowary Dream, the Delaware Contemporary, 2018
"Lying flat on my back late at night with not a stitch on staring
up at the most marvellous starry night you've ever seen. Something like out of
a Van Gogh painting but with animated shooting stars. Chattering teeth and
goosebumps all over whilst the master of light painting got to work. This was
the start of my experience with the great Carson Zullinger. One almost fall
into the dark pool by Carson and a few more goosebumps later we finally
finished for the night to rise for the earliest shoot of the week. I stayed
over that night to make the 5am rise. Otherwise the drive for Carson to get to the
model house and back would have started at 4am which is the middle of the night
to most.
Waking at the Cassowary property was a sight for sore eyes in
the sense it was so beautiful you had to pinch yourself that you were still
alive. How the reflections fell across the crystal still pool were phenomenal
and that's when I finally understood Carson's enthusiasm at finding a model to
experiment with. A moment of true appreciation in being asked.
We took advantage of the light whilst we could with the great
help of Patt before dashing to the beach before the first harsh light.
Pebble beach was a short drive away but worth every km of the
drive, for the rock formations were majestic and unique in every twist and turn
in sight. The air was still cold for me but once my bare skin was lain against
the gently heating up rocks I felt like a reptile taking the morning's first
sun.
Lying wedged between two rocks close to the road side oblivious
to the passers by, my eyes caught sight of what looked remarkably like a
pineapple tree to me. I jumped at excitement due to my great love for
pineapples. My mobile phone cover is a pineapple and I eat about half a
pineapple a day which makes me basically part of the pineapple family. In juice
anyway. It turned out to not be a pineapple tree but something agreeably
similar. One of my many fairytale illusions that week. We retired from the
beach as soon as the sun showed its mighty potential to dehydrate even the
giant human fruits that graced its presence. I swear in ten minutes your mouth
was dry and your skin well on its way to finishing up like a prune.
Arriving back at the house, Carson and I then experimented with
some slow movement images and a tropical flower. That one time I accidentally
fell, showed to be the type of accident that you want to happen in art. I think
that's why I love art so much. All my daily accidents can be turned into
purposeful great masterpieces. So I fell in a similar style a few times more. I
hope that Carson got what he needed from those photos and that one day that
exact moment in history can be frozen in time forever at one of his wonderful
galleries in some giant installation that will be admired by many in
recognition for the great artist he is.
To date every experience I've had with Carson has been not only
a pleasure but has finished up in some of his galleries and in his books. My
mum took possession of my past books to keep them in safe keep because she was
so proud of them. For a second she forgot herself and asked if she could show
them to my grandmother before I gently reminded her that I was nude and that
there was still no way to explain that. Even in the name of art I chuckle to
myself."
Tara Liggett