Moving between the \u201chaze of memory and the clarity of the present\u201d, the photos depict swirling cloudscapes blown out in inverted whites, timelapsed ribbons of light in the night sky and whispery moments of sleep \u2013 in one photo, Amani observes his child\u2019s dusky image through an iPad screen. \u201cIt\u2019s about coming face to face with my younger self, allowing him to rest, and ultimately emerging as a new version of myself \u2013 imperfect, but transformed by the act of confronting and understanding these traumas,\u201d says Amani.<\/p>\n
Amani struggles to cite major creative inspirations, but that\u2019s what makes this work so singular. It\u2019s a complete act of turning inside out, an inversion as severe as the photo of birds so white against the black sky that they look like starling-shaped holes in the world. The book\u2019s narrative mirrors Amani\u2019s lived experience of touching death\u2019s own vapour \u2013 in Invisible Sun, when the viewer sees a figure standing in a serene body of water, they also see Amani\u2019s own metaphysical baptism, turning vapour to water, the unreal to the real, death to rebirth.<\/p>\n
As the book nears its end, those same white birds flock the page until their whiteness devours the page \u2013 for Amani, it\u2019s a moment where the story ruptures. \u201cAfter that fade to white, there is an image of a newborn baby which I see as a metaphor for the new self I\u2019ve become through the process of confronting and transforming my past experiences,\u201d says Amani.<\/p>\n
And thus, a transformation from child to adult meets its apex, leaving the quiet narrative up for interpretation. \u201cEvery viewer brings their own history to it and no two experiences are the same \u2013 the beauty of art lies in its multiplicity.\u201d Blending ghostly black and white with blasts of overexposure, dreamlike colours and mazeworks of natural formations, Invisible Sun becomes a visual dictionary for every sensation that occurs throughout the often misunderstood therapeutic effects of ketamine \u2013 and how it feels to have a personal relationship with illness.<\/p>\n