Transcendent Country of the Mind is a project exploring my encounters with and perceptions of alternative dimensions of reality. In my early twenties, I experimented with LSD regularly and excessively, and eventually experienced an extended psychotic episode, which had serious consequences on my own life, but also profoundly changed the way I perceive the world and reality itself. During this time, I abandoned all my worldly possessions; I confronted the demons of Hell and was shown the wonders of Heaven; I travelled through time and space; I peeked behind the curtain of this dimension and - even today, having fully recovered - my understanding of reality has changed forever. These photographs represent this perspective and offer others similar glimpses behind the curtain.
This project is not strictly related to any specific physical space in the world - It is more an exploration to the mind's relationship to the world as an entity around us, which I think, is a very complex relationship, if we think about the mind-body problem for example. Also, referring to quantum mechanics, it seems that the way we see the world is fundamentally different to what the world actually is. So to me, the relationship between my mind and this physical space where I operate in, is a never-ending compelling mystery.
Sari Soininen (b.1991) is a Finnish photographer based in Bristol, United Kingdom. Sari holds BA from Lahti Institute of Design, carried out exchange studies in Edinburgh College of Art and is currently studying MA Photography at UWE, Bristol. Her colourful otherworldly photography draws from philosophical thoughts and personal mystical experiences.