TETHER crafts visual connections between the sun, moon, earth and starsto portray the perpetual bond between a father and daughter.
The use of lighting, colour and negative space evokes the emotional relationship ofthe subject to his surroundings. In a very personal series, Jalaru opens upabout raising his daughter while battling cancer, reflecting on his journeyand the legacy that is left.
For Jadaja.
Currents of the sun pull him towards hisown end while he reflects through slices ofmemories. Her light becomes the onlywarmth in the oceans of the moon.
The commitment of a father can weigh aheavy price but its weightlessness in theend is the reward. Will his stolen soul floatpeacefully towards his ancestors in thefield of stars?
Blood of my blood – to protect the child isthe only true warmth in the void.
Blood of my Blood
“Blood of my blood binds us; her glowing warmth illuminates the void as I give sanctuary to herevolving soul.”
Field of Stolen Souls
“Who shall invoke my memory? Through colourless blackened night, adrift on a sea of souls,forever tethered to the echo of those who remain below.”
Oceans of the Moon
“The stillness of the dark; silently surrounded by the coldness of the deep, crushed by waves ofemotion, until her light radiates warmth to the oceans of the moon.”
Empire of Dirt
“Thrust upon a pedestal, I protest my importance; balancing her needs before mine, I welcomethe self-inflicted weight of expectation not blinded by morality.”
Currents of the Sun
“The smell of burnt flesh; pulsing radiation burns through my skin, echoing the poisons thathave cured my organs, with only a shadow left of my breath.”
TETHER 2020
Michael Jalaru Torres
Photographic Online Exhibition
Head On Photo Festival 2020
Cooee Art Gallery Bondi
TETHER (2020) by Michael Jalaru Torres is a profoundly moving, intimate photographic series that operates simultaneously on a cosmic scale and a deeply human, cellular level. Originally showcased as an online exhibition for the Head On Photo Festival and hosted by Cooee Art Gallery, the body of work stands as a striking, vulnerable meditation on fatherhood, mortality, and the enduring ties of lineage.
Dedicated to the artist’s daughter, Jadaja, TETHER is a visual narrative forged in the crucible of a personal crisis—navigating the complexities of raising a child while confronting a battle with cancer. Rather than shrinking into the insular space of illness, the work expands outward, utilizing the grand architecture of the universe to map the landscape of human emotion.
Cosmic Scales and Intimate Realities
The conceptual framework of TETHER relies on an evocative celestial shorthand, drawing direct visual and thematic lines between the sun, moon, earth, and stars. Torres uses these elements not as distant, passive backdrops, but as active forces that mirror the internal weight of his journey.
The prose guiding the exhibition captures this beautifully:
"Currents of the sun pull him towards his own end while he reflects through slices of memories. Her light becomes the only warmth in the oceans of the moon."
In this creative ecosystem, the sun represents the relentless, pulling passage of time—the stark reminder of mortality. Conversely, the daughter’s presence is framed as a luminous, vital counterbalance, acting as the solitary warmth capable of piercing through the cold isolation of the "oceans of the moon" and the absolute stillness of the void.
The Language of Space and Shadow
Visually, the collection achieves its emotional resonance through a masterful command of formal photographic elements:
Chiaroscuro and Lighting: The interplay of light and dark acts as a literal manifestation of hope wrestling with despair. The deliberate illumination highlights small, precious "slices of memory," isolating moments of profound connection against vast, threatening dark tones.
The Emotional Weight of Negative Space: Torres utilizes negative space with extraordinary intent. The expanses of emptiness surrounding the subject do not feel merely vacant; they carry an atmospheric pressure. They evoke the immense, terrifying solitude of facing one's mortality, while emphasizing how precious and fragile the central bond truly is.
Color as Atmosphere: The color palette shifts between the clinical coldness of a shadowed existence and the visceral, life-giving warmth of sunlight and bloodline, reinforcing the thematic tension between the end of life and the continuation of legacy.
The Heavy Price and Weightless Reward
At the heart of TETHER is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of protection and legacy. The work acknowledges that the responsibility of a father—particularly one staring down an uncertain future—carries an almost crushing weight. Yet, Torres beautifully posits that the ultimate culmination of this devotion is a sense of transcendent weightlessness. It is a quiet surrendering to the ancestral timeline, asking: "Will his stolen soul float peacefully towards his ancestors in the field of stars?"
Ultimately, TETHER transcends the boundaries of standard documentary or portrait photography. It is an act of artistic alchemy, transforming an intensely private, frightening chapter of life into a universal monument to parental love. By anchoring human vulnerability to the timeless rhythm of the stars, the work ensures that the legacy left behind is not one of sorrow, but of fierce, protective, and inextinguishable light.