Defiance
By Ethan Cunningham
Artist’s Statement
For me, the true beauty of this image is that it suggests a powerful story with very little. But for each person, that story can be very personal and very different. The silhouette acts as a stand-in for the viewer.
I like to imagine this is a woman who has recently received terrible news, perhaps her husband has left her or she was diagnosed with cancer, and so she drives to the coast to process this in solitude, and here she is, having battled the raging sea and herself, standing resolute against the tide, determined to resist being crushed and fight onward, head held high.
Even though I was there when I took the photo and I know its silhouetted subject well, and I know the true story of this photo, for me personally, this is the story told in this image.
Ethan Cunningham prefers to create without artistic labels. His short works appear in print, on-screen, and on the stage. Most recently, his poetry, short fiction, and photography can be found in Abstract Elephant, Lotus-eater Magazine, Ygdrasil, New Plains Review, and others. Among his writing credits are three award-winning short documentaries featuring international nonprofit endeavors. He lives in California.
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