"This quadriptych features four photographs from my “Seven Types of Love” series that aims to encapsulate the feeling of Agape, an ancient Greek word which describes a saintly, spiritual and altruistic love. As opposed to the other types (Ludus, Storge, Philautia, Eros, Pragma and Mania) included in the series.
I wanted to evoke a feeling of vastness to connote the universal quality of Agape. For the top left image (Agape 3), I utilized a moonscape on reversal film from the NASA archive acquired from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
A merging of the soul and the body brings a feeling of Agape. For me, this sense of being between worlds or floating through an amorphous liquid was the aim for the top right (Agape 4) and bottom left (Agape 1) images. The mouth and nipple are the furthermost points on a woman’s body, leaving an impression of either entering or exiting the world.
Another meaning of the word ‘agape’ is an expression of astonishment with the mouth wide open, as in wonder, surprise, or eagerness. This is portrayed with the image of the woman’s open mouth juxtaposed with an image of her face looking directly at you, the remainder of liquid on her chin.
This is the type of love, in which we look deep inside ourselves to connect outwardly, is one in which I feel our world needs more of."
- Amanda Charchian
