ATON

Photography fascinates me because it resonates with two forces: Light and Time. These are, to me, the great Gods that govern us — unveiling layers, shaping forms, moulding every moment.

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The observation of solar energy has always sparked my curiosity, and in descriptions of Ancient Pharaonic Egypt, I found profound echoes of this attraction.

In the time of Akhenaten, the Sun God Aton rose as a sovereign among the other gods, and Atenism emerged as the first recorded monotheistic religion. Sunlight, according to this belief, was the very gaze of God — a living presence that touched the world and every being.

 

At that time, it was believed that vision was not merely receptive but an emanation — like a beam extending from the eye that, upon meeting an object, formed a bond with it. This concept stirred in me the desire to craft this essay, closely flirting with that idea: where the Sun reaches, God touches.

 

Yet I wonder how far this reign of the Sun extends, and to what extent God depends on those who observe Him.

After all, a God only exists if there is a people to revere Him. Without eyes to witness Him, what would His domain be?​

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