I have long been fascinated by Nicholas Poussins’s allegorical painting A Dance to the Music of Time with its focus on the repeating circles of life, and have wanted to create an image inspired by the painting. A detail from the resulting picture is shown above and the full image can be seen here:

http://jameshall.myportfolio.com/the-circle-of-life

All the photographs I share on this site are to some degree or another a collaborative effort. But this one more than anything was a collaborative project with Suki Miles, who designed and made all the fantastic costumes and Paola Sammartino who realised our shared vision in post-production. As you can imagine, it has taken several months to get to this point but I am delighted by the result.

At the centre of the image stand representatives of the evolving and perhaps circular human condition, Poverty, Labour, Wealth and Pleasure. Beside them stands the Source of Life. And around them are figures representing Day and Night, and the Four Seasons, each of which form their own circles of life. you will need to access the full image through the link above to see how all the elements come together.