My series entitled “Embodiment” created in 2013 and finished in 2016, is a set of photographs and videos. They are interpretations of the grace emanating from the Self within the self. The dancers represent allegories of a state of being. In Japanese, ‘Hara’ symbolizes the physical and spiritual center of a person and is located right under the navel. “Embodiment” is a focus on the primitive, creative and eternal Self within the Self. My Series comes into being with paint, canvas, dancers & photography and video. A weakened Hara is at the core of poor health when scorned and denied. The wellness of our societies and the quality of our connection to Nature lies in the wellness of the Hara.
I envision the center of my being as a small shape, this inner self which lives in a place inside that is free, constantly transcending and of of interchangeable colors. In slow motion, it goes towards its own refinement, learns, adapt, creates & gives back. It represents what it is to just “be”. I did a performance at the Barge Museum of Brooklyn on June 4th 2016 with live music by Birgid Volens and dancers Juilan Watson and Mykaila Symes.. In front of a live audience, each dancer was first painted and danced in front of a large backdrop I created for this unique event.
https://www.waterfrontmuseum.org/events/exhibit/embodiment
Also there are videos of each Hara (#!, #2, #3, #4, #5)
With Cassandra Martin:
Hara#1
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/140578264
With Julian Watson:
Hara #2
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/140578474
With Ashley Whitson:
Hara #3
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/140578619
With Erika Citrin:
Hara #4
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/140578857
With Ezra Go:
"Panic attack"
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/148623978
Story: A man in NYC's Wall Street area is experiencing a panic attack. His inner self is represented struggling through it and trying to be balanced again. Once seated, he breathes again thru the Hara which enables him to lessen the grasp of that intense feeling.