A Walk in the Wilderness
A Walk in the Wilderness is a unique artistic collaboration between illustrator Rachel Eleanor, photographer Eley, and podcaster Marthame Sanders.
In 2017, Sanders interviewed Eley for his podcast, Aijcast. The weekly podcast features conversations and performances at the intersection of art, inspiration, and justice. Soon after, the two began collaborating on a series of narrative photo shoots. Featuring select guests of Aijcast, the series provided the artists with portraiture and documentary imagery that presented a visual story of their art and evolution.
In 2019, Eleanor appeared on Aijcast, sharing the story of how challenging her inherited narrow evangelical views had led to both wilderness and freedom in the search of a more expansive love. It was the first platform
that gave Eleanor the opportunity to voice her ideas and begin to flesh them out artistically. The depth of their conversation led Sanders to connect Eleanor with Eley for what was to be the final project in their narrative
photo collaboration series.
Eley and Eleanor first scheduled a collaborative photoshoot, where Eley’s eye-catching portraiture gave space for Eleanor’s whimsical illustrations. This process led to a deeper conversation, which gave birth to the project A Walk in the Wilderness.
A Walk in the Wilderness is a multimedia work that includes Eley’s photography, Eleanor’s illustrations, and Sanders’ audio to tell the story of Viola (portrayed by model Dominique B. with Ursula Wiedmann models), a woman who steps through a hollow tree and into The Wilderness, a metaphor for Eleanor’s own post-evangelical wanderings and her exploration of her inner landscape of memories and emotions. The story came to life by means of Eley freezing moments in which Dominique and the Arabia Mountain landscape intertwined, embellished with Eleanor’s illustrations of creatures celebrating the metaphorical explorations of light and dark. Tying these scenes into a cohesive narrative are selected pieces of poetry, personal reflections, narration and music.
