It was, naturally, the revolutionary thinker and writer John Berger who wrote, “the relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits right.”
I don’t know about you but lately, I seem to spend a lot of time wondering. Often just out of curiosity but sometimes – and predictably, it often does involve a glorious child, night sky or unexpected rainbow – it’s that feeling of awe and admiration for something truly astonishing. Not infrequently however, as I wade through the mental pollution of endless imagery and noise, the marvel is more a deep uncertainty and doubt. The things that make you go, “hmmm…”
The story goes that learning brings wonder. The more we know, the more there is to consider. Looking and seeing is an act of choice, with thinking beyond the ordinary being undoubtedly both voluntary and arbitrary. In my experience, my most wondrous moments have come with my most intense pain. The absolute mind expansion after my Mother died in my arms, the simple act of breathing feeling like a super phenomenon following a great shock and a devout belief in miracles after the birth of my babies.
It was in these moments, almost as if in slow motion, my eyes opened to the things that had always been there but were not truly seen.
But if, as this suggests, wonder is in fact a giant glimmer of hope, then how we can live in that atmosphere always? Perspective, I guess. “We carry in us the wonders we seek,” said Rumi. We must learn to explore wonder in all its forms, right across the spectrum; the dark, the joyful, even the psychedelic.
May this issue, in one way or another, take you there.
View this post on Instagram
To learn about our cover star, Yilan Hua, read more about this industry icon through our model profile. Experience the Wonder issue in its entirety this September, available on newsstands from September 1 and through our online shop. Find a stockist near you.
PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Ashton @ After Winter Agency
FASHION Hannah Cooper
MODELS Yilan Hua @ NY Model Management, Teo Fortin @ Metropolitan Models Paris
HAIR Miwa Moroki
MAKEUP Kana Nagashima
PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANTS Bananas Clarke and Alex Tracey
STYLIST’S ASSISTANT Lola Sarah
CASTING Neill Seeto at IMA Casting
