Liminal Dissonance
2017
Meditation:Napping
April 19, 2017Zen meditation is a practice of fully opening up to reality, in all its wonders and horrors, and cultivating equanimity through acknowledgment and acceptance of reality. The present moment is perfect because it is exactly what it is, and practicing awareness of and non-resistance to it is a path to deep connectivity and growth.
Sleep is a necessity of life, a restorative process for the body and mind. It is also escape, a means of denying reality temporarily. It is natural to respond to an overwhelming or horrifying reality by seeking the suppression of feelings and delay of responsibility offered by sleep. There is self-care in sleep, and there is denial.
This land bears the generations-old wounds of a society utterly out of touch with its relationship to the earth. But in the stillness of meditation one sees beyond trauma and glimpses the perpetuity of nature. In the vulnerability of sleep, one is embraced by its still-unwavering capacity for support.
meditation/napping was a sound and video installation located in the gymnasium room of Civic Studio. The videos were shown on adjacent walls accompanied by undulating tracks of sampled audio (power station buzz, rain drops, ice cream truck, ambient noise, etc.). The installation was developed to encourage visitors to find a place of calmness amidst the many complexities of contemporary urban life.
