A Wave is Water (Part 1 & 2)
9/15-10/15/2017

(Part 1) Solo exhibition at New Capital Projects. The foundations of the project began with feelings around the recent total solar eclipse over America, a blackout, the loss of my grandfather, and the book No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh. Moving through raw space, I began working through feelings and with my physical surroundings, collecting and arranging familiar objects and materials from my home and studio with those found in and around the gallery. Materials flowed into and out of each piece, reforming and embodying the poem written as a surrogate. The work was a call and response between me, the teacher, the viewer, and the environment.

(Part 2) At the close of the exhibition, I placed an IV bag with medicinal fluid inside of an exposed cavity that connected to a concealed cave of stormwater below the floorboards. I set the IV to release a drip every 9 seconds, creating a pulse, a rhythm in the space. A small group gathered around as the sound punctuated, and while I lit candles, reading excerpts from the book No Death, No Fear. I led a series of ritual practices with participants: a grasping ritual, a flower release ritual, and a bell ceremony to address feelings of fear, grief, loss, and renewal. These practices were created specifically for the individual and collective needs of the participants, some examples being: the death of family members, destructive weather events (Hurricane Maria and Puebla earthquake), and the closing of the gallery.
Read poem

Access No Death, No Fear by Thich Naht Hanh

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