The Paperbark Runner

Photo Essay, Portraiture, Narrative, Fine Art Photography

A woman caught mid-flight, her body shimmering against the whispering silver and green of a paperbark tree grove. Her feet are barely touching the ground, as if she is weightless, suspended in a moment between terror and liberation. Her hair streams out behind her, a wild, untamed banner. Is she fleeing from something unseen, or toward something unknown, something that beckons with the promise of escape, of solace? The air around her seems to crackle with tension, the scent of earth and eucalyptus hanging heavy.

The paperbark trees stand tall and ancient, their creamy, peeling bark curling away like old paper left too long in the sun, revealing their sinewy strength underneath. They are silent sentinels, witnesses to her flight, their branches entwined overhead like an embrace she seems desperate to escape. The grove is dense, a labyrinth of shadows and secrets, offering both cover and concealment. Light filters through the leaves in fractured patterns, casting the ground in a patchwork quilt of brightness and shade. It is a sanctuary, but also a place where one could easily become lost.

The woman's face is turned away, her features obscured, yet there is something unmistakably poignant in the set of her shoulders, in the urgency of her stride. Is she running away from something that has hurt her, something that has left a wound too deep to heal? Or is she running toward the promise of something better, something that lies just beyond the trees, in a clearing bathed in sunlight? Her flight is filled with questions, with untold stories.

There is a sense of raw, visceral emotion in her movement — a mixture of fear, defiance, and perhaps a flicker of hope. This grove, this haven of paperbark trees, feels like both a refuge and a trap, a place where one might find themselves and yet remain hidden forever. It holds the paradox of freedom and entanglement, where every step forward is a step deeper into the unknown.

This photograph captures not just the woman’s escape but also her courage. It holds the breathless moment when choice becomes action, when the past unspools behind her and the future narrows to a single point — the next step, the next breath, the next heartbeat. It is an image of release, of letting go of what weighs her down, even if she doesn’t know what awaits her on the other side.

And so she runs, into the grove, into the shadows, into the light. She runs with all the fear and all the hope that a single moment can contain. She runs not just away from something, but toward a self that she is only beginning to discover.

If you'd like to delve deeper into my photography please visit my website and Instagram (@randleebdutoit). Please reach out if you'd like to suggest a collaboration.

All images are copyright Rand Leeb-du Toit, 2024