In his book on the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic Leonard Koren states,
Wabi-Sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular, and enduring. Wabi_Sabi is not found in nature at moments of bloom and lushness, but at moments of inception or subsiding. Wabi-Sabi is not about gorgeous flowers, majestic trees or bold landscapes. Wabi-Sabi is about the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral: things so subtle and evanescent they are invisible to vulgar eyes.
I often dip into this small book to keep my Wabi-Sabiness topped up and on reading this passage a day or two ago I thought I would browse my photographic images for something that would illustrate this statement. I have always favoured things in a state of decay or deconstruction over those in a condition of growth or creation so it was no surprise to me to find many more photographs depicting the former than the latter.
I thought these three photographs fitted the bill rather well and as it happens all three were taken in Andalucia, Spain. I find that Spain, particularly in the rural areas has far more things Wabi-Sabi than anywhere in the UK where a great deal of tidying up goes on much to the detriment of the Wabi-Sabi hunter.
