Nocturnal Sunrise

Philip Ringler

2006-2009

Nocturnal Sunrise is a deep exploration of Mortificatio, the blackening process in Jungian psychological alchemy. This phase represents death, disintegration, and the necessary dissolution of the self before transformation can occur. It is the confrontation with darkness—the surrender to uncertainty, chaos, and the void—before anything new can be reborn.

The images in this series are large, meticulously hand-printed black-and-white photographs (60”x40”), created using Kodak Technical Pan 35mm film. This particular film, when developed in a specific way, achieves both high contrast and full tonal range simultaneously. The result is a stark, immersive quality—deep blacks, brilliant highlights, and an almost sculptural presence to the images. The tonal complexity of the film mirrors the thematic complexity of the series, reflecting the psychological tension at its core.

A central motif in Nocturnal Sunrise is the roller coaster—an image that encapsulates the simultaneous thrill and terror of surrendering control. The roller coaster, much like Mortificatio, forces its rider through an inevitable sequence of ascent, fall, and reckoning. It becomes a symbol of life’s cyclical nature, of emotional highs and lows, of the ways we seek catharsis through fear. In these photographs, the roller coaster exists in a liminal space—looming, empty, silhouetted against vast darkness or impossibly bright skies, as if suspended between states of being.

Surrounding and supporting this central theme are other images, each layered with alchemical symbolism: desolate landscapes, artificial lights cutting through night, structures that appear abandoned yet strangely alive. These compositions work together to create a psychological terrain—one that is not bound by a specific place but rather a state of mind. The work sits at the intersection of dream and nightmare, exhilaration and despair, transformation and obliteration.

Like much of my work, Nocturnal Sunrise resists easy interpretation. It is meant to be felt rather than simply understood, evoking a sense of unease, awe, and reflection. The process of viewing the work mirrors the alchemical process itself—one must sit with the darkness, embrace its weight, and allow it to reveal what lies beneath.

Read an interview about this work in Black and White Magazine.