February 13th - 13:30

Title: February 13th - 13:30 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: Up in the Sacred Valley is a throne for a King and Queen, and in between a heart shaped rock for star crossed lovers. You don't need to be a man to sit inside the divine feminine, nor a woman to sit inside the divine masculine. We carry both energies throughout life like a dance with destiny in harmony and equilibrium. Mark, who is one of the twin cactus shamans, has been holding space for me and tons of other visitors by the Temple of the Moon for many, many years. He is with his beloved Elizabeth who he met at the gym in the center of town in Cusco. They fell in love and are bringing the healing qualities of the cactus to the local people with her help. I visited this gym during my stay at their home and it became a daily ritual to walk from the mountain house to the town and back up the long and winding trail steadily uphill, which was pitch black at night and ridiculously steep the way we chose to go back home, Charlie and I, who had joined me in the Peruvian leg of the journey. I photographed Mark and Simon for Twin Flames back in 2018 nearing the end and this is the time after the first I drank the green cactus juice which opened my heart and soul to the spirit world for a second time. I spoke to my twin sister who was lost in the womb during my mothers miscarriage, she became a butterfly. A guardian spirit on the other side. There was a Psychic also named Elizabeth who translated and spoke through her like a channel during the peak of the experience. I roared like a lion in pain with a blockage in my back, from the pain and guilt of surviving. It was as if I had absorbed her in the womb and she clutched to my back shoulder. Once I roared my friend Lindy, who was another Shaman (Sangoma) from South Africa, helped me clear this energy blockage. By screaming louder and pounding the Earth for 30 minutes, louder and louder until I let out what felt like a black bat from my throat and evaporated into thin air. A physical manifestation of the pain was released and banished to whence it came: death. Once released, I collapsed on all fours and face first into the dirt. The process was complete, and I had felt a gutteral release. I laid there for a couple hours crying into the ground, the tears seeping under like crystal seeds pouring back into the Earth. There was peace, there was no more pain. Then, I got up. Feeling grounded and inspired. Mark and Simon and I went to the front of their Casa with totem poles of San Pedro standing guard on each side like a green tree climbing to heaven. Mark was holding the thick cactus awaiting to be cut, boiled, and juiced for the next guests. This was the photograph I had imagined for months before I came to visit. It was the only Twin Flames image I had been thinking about how I would like to photograph them. The image was crystal clear in my consciousness, where as nearly all of my other portraits were shot in the moment, improvised and authentic to the light, models, and presence. They are my brothers; The family I chose up in the Andes. So here we are in 2023. Mark and his new girlfriend Elizabeth, "Twin Flames" and a lot to learn from one another. Instead of shooting Mark with his Twin, Simon. We seeked the depth of their life beyond the twindom and created a moment for their personality and lifestyle to shine through. Mark is in love, and we wanted to honor that since Valentine's day was a day away. Later on in the project I photograph Simon by himself with a pack of Gorillas in Uganda. Sometimes twins live their own life, even though they may sometimes be together and finish their sentences. They are their own person, where their life choices make them unique. We end with a subtle kiss. Mark and Elizabeth, sitting rightfully at their throne. Coming together in the heart shaped rock at the Temple of The Moon.