The climber 2016

Alfred Freddy Krupa captured this black and white photograph, titled "The Climber," showing a lone figure ascending a ladder towards an ornate building. The ladder itself is an ancient symbol, a potent reminder of the striving for higher knowledge, a connection between the earthly and divine realms. We see ladders in countless contexts, from Jacob's ladder in Genesis to the Mithraic mysteries where initiates climbed a seven-rung ladder to reach enlightenment. The gesture of climbing, of striving upwards, resonates deeply in the human psyche, a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and reaching for something beyond ourselves. Here, the climber, a shadowy figure, seems to be scaling not just a building but perhaps some unseen challenge. Does the destination matter, or is the ascent itself what truly signifies?