Dream of a Lover

Artist Elena Lyakir sees nature as a source of essence, spirit, and myth. Inspired by both nature's beauty and fierce power, she creates photographs that translate the visceral process of seeing into works of art that capture the depth of interior worlds, memories, sentiments, and dreams. Her unique techniques result in abstract, painterly pieces that evoke a feeling of flux and transience, suggesting the fragility and ephemeral nature of the human experience.

Learn more about Elena Lyakir's experiences creating the Aves series of which Dream of a Lover resides within:

"In the early hours of a cold autumn morning I encountered large flocks of red-winged blackbirds in eastern Long Island. Watching the birds feed and fly in unison, I was mesmerized. Thus began my obsession with the subject. Growing up in Ukraine I had a strong visceral connection to birds. They were symbols of freedom, transformation and hope and their poetic murmuration evoke simultaneous feelings of awe, longing and nostalgia.

I have traveled to many remote places across the globe in search of illusive migrating flocks. They are a challenge to photograph; fast and fleeting, they are often difficult to find and easy to lose sight of but I enjoy the process. The quiet time I spend alone listening to the sounds of nature is not only an exercise of patience and awareness, but an opportunity for introspection.

For me, the Aves series has become an ongoing exploration of how we relate to the visual experience emotionally. Images represent reality in symbols. Like memories and dreams, they reveal themselves in the physical world, asserting meaning into the activities of life. Using birds as my subject, I attempt to engage the viewer through self-reflection by evoking memory and facilitating the sensation of feeling. I relish the moments in which the visual experience becomes an emotional one."