Meditation of Body was installed in the Sheehan Gallery at Whitman College as part of the Senior Art Thesis Exhibition in April-May 2017. The piece was made by the artist with the help of a group of volunteers following open-ended movement based prompts. The artist statement is as follows:

The body is the site of emotional identity, sensuality, vitality and physical interaction with the world; we depend daily on our bodies to carry, move and work. While we frequently communicate through our bodies, we are only cognizant of others’ intimacy with their own bodies in rare moments: sexual intimacy, a doctor’s visit, shared living situations, close relationships with family or lovers.

The intimate physical gestures and habits we bestow upon our bodies are markers of care, introspection, and familiarity.  But the tenderness of touching one’s own form has become taboo and relegated to signify the voyeuristic and the explicit. Many functional rituals and behaviors we perform with our bodies remain in domestic spaces, bound to privacy by social rules and expectations. Why do we hide the narratives of our forms from those around us— mystifying and cloaking the imperfect vessels we journey with? What stories do they tell us— the remnants of breaks, bruises and healing, prompted mentally and physically by our experiences?

Moments of exploration and sensitivity when interacting with our own body reveals what makes it uniquely ours. By this truth we reclaim them as a visible part of our social identity. To indulge in an exploration of our parts and places divulges tenderness and scars. This openness is strength and power. This experience and relationship is communal and vital. My artwork invites people to consider their own bodies and the ways we as a community can reconnect with the intimacy, power, and tenderness that comes with bodily vulnerability and exploration.

Cultivating and engaging in vulnerability takes time and sensitivity. This piece exists thanks to the the willingness and openness of the individuals who participated. Thank you for granting your time to this reflection, and the honest intimacy you shared.