Throughout many years of formal education in historical, theoretical and the applied arts and, even more years of personal encounters with the arts, this Newton photograph continues to resonate for me. I keep coming back to this photograph with fresh eyes. It reminds me of all the things I love and loathe. It disturbs and seduces in ways that takes me to a psychological edge! There are little motifs which rely more on your imagination than on what is actually in the photograph. For example, the blood red stamp on the Japanese knife just looks like, well, butchered blood, the implied, imputed or imagined vulgarity of the excesses of the 90's, the fearlessness and practicality of women in (and out) the kitchen, the list goes on.....To me, it also points to two of my favourite things, roast chicken (see my food blog: champagnewiththat.tumblr.com) and sparkling, clear blue gems. The latter are constant reminders of the clearest and cleanest oceans I've been lucky enough to swim in!