a lonely astronaut with wanderlust reaches for butterflies and books

the lonely astronaut is a photo series by karen jerzyk. it’s a difficult series to describe with words but very easy to understand if you’re an insect or a levitating book. to dissect these photos and their meanings would be to rip the wings from these meticulously hung butterflies and add gravity to an interstellar traveler that is clearly, weightless. a sense of wonder, a sense of isolation — whatever it is that this astronaut reminds us of is worth acknowledging. 

all images courtesy of karen jerzyk

photosets from the lonely astronaut are available for purchase on karen jerzyk’s portfolio website. little hints of feeling are offered from the captions on her instagram.

‘it is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it,’ jerzyk captions the above photo on instagram. the aphorisms and quotes she tags along with each story is often as lyrical and dry as the photos themselves. in the end, we’re all lonely astronauts that will live, explore dust, die and become more dust, for more lonely astronauts to explore.