What's your idea of Paradise? Of course, it's different for everyone. For Lover of the week Zac Bayly, Paradise would look rather like this Australian landscape of waterfalls and rainforest, shot by photographer Luke Byrne...
What's your idea of Paradise? Of course, it's different for everyone. The Ancient Greeks had the Elysian Fields, for Celts, it was the Fortunate Isle of Mag Mell, Buddhists have nirvana, the mental state of being free from suffering, and Christians have the notion of heaven, a return to the perfect Garden of Eden before it was tainted by human folly. And while today the concept may have lost its definitively religious slant, in modern parlance it remains a pastoral idyll, a perfect beach, valley or forest, unsullied by human hand. For Lover of the week Zac Bayly, Paradise would look rather like this landscape of waterfalls and rainforest, shot by photographer Luke Byrne. Based on its popularity on the Loves stream, it seems that many of us would agree.
"In culture the idea of Paradise is one that is constantly being subverted, with perfection only ever being skin deep."
In culture the idea of Paradise is one that is constantly being subverted, with perfection only ever being skin deep. The sublime golden sands and crystal seas of the beach in Danny Boyle’s eponymous film conceals brutality and drug dealing behind its glittering surface, and grunge band Nirvana revelled in defying the tranquility inherent in their name. Paradise is by necessity unattainable, but ithis picture is a reassuring suggestion that, albeit in a corner of the world far far away, there is somewhere that comes close.
Here we speak to Bayly about escaping from London and making jokes that are sadly way past their sell by date.
Why did you choose to love this photograph?
I'm a fan of Luke Byrne's photography. He's one of the most talented young photographers in Australia. I chose to Love this particular photo because it represents everything that I need right now. I need to get out of London and spend a month in the wilderness – no emails, no phone... Just sunshine and a stack of books!
Where would you hang it if you owned it?
Around my neck.
What's your idea of Paradise, where would you be and who would you be with?
I know this is going to sound corny as hell, but even though I live in an apartment as big as the box my boots came in, I'm kind of living in paradise right now. I just moved in with my boyfriend Ponti and it's really perfect. Although I'd prefer it if there were a few trees and birds outside the window instead of cars and kebab stores.
What would you eat in Paradise?
Coconuts!
Nirvana, Vanessa Paradis or Coolio's Gangster's Paradise?
Nirvana, duh! Also, it would be so good if Johny Depp did a cover of Charlene's 'Never Been to Me', but instead of singing 'I've been to paradise', he sang 'Paradis'... Why do I still think that lame joke that no one laughed at is so fucking funny, like, a year after they broke up?
What are you looking forward to about April?
Sunshine and white t-shirts.
What was the last thing you bought?
A limited-edition Will and Kate marriage mug. It cost one pound. My boyfriend and I have basically bought take-out every morning and night for the past few months because neither of us wants to do the dishes. I thought that a one pound mug that I'm only going to use once is cheaper than spending three pounds on a coffee downstairs tomorrow morning. So... That's thrifty of me, right?
Text by Tish Wrigley
