Commentary by Ron C. Moss, Haiga Editor
Haiga Showcase: Elisa Theriana
Elisa Theriana continues to amaze us with her sensitive and deeply heartfelt haiga, and it’s a pleasure to be able to feature her work at the Showcase Gallery once again. Elisa is creating her own unique style as she experiments with new design approaches, and I commend her for thinking “outside the box.”
“one spring” tantalizes us with its textural placement and minimal imagery. The haiku dances on the page and seems to fly though the air, which draws a lovely connection to the sparrow songs. The delicate leaf contrasts nicely with the blurred background, creating the type of balance and imagery we have come to expect from Elisa’s artistic eye..
We see in “weeding out” a clever juxtaposition of the flower buds and a roll of film. A thought-provoking senryu, its vertical format mirroring the plants’ positioning, rounds out the haiga with its poignant intimations of passage and memory.
In “red cheeks.” another vertical haiku nicely matches the colour and arrangement of the flowers, which are captured in different depths of field. Elisa’s imagery often takes on an ethereal feel that blends well with her haiku and evokes varying emotions. I love the comparison of red cheeks and the petals of the flowers.
“her heartbeat” is full of texture and contrast. A wondrous one-line senryu in a one line takes us out into space and back again, all within a heartbeat. The touch of purple on the monochrome rose petals gives the feeling of a pumping heart breaking through darkness. The framing and design elements all work together to show how a one-dimensional image can have many layers, not unlike a well-made verse.
To see an earlier Showcase of Elisa’s work, click here.
About the Artist
Elisa Theriana, From Bandung Indonesia, is currently working from home as a computer programmer. A photography enthusiast who started her haiku journey in 2018, she is a lifetime lover of pizza and chocolate.