In being invited to take a step back after meeting with my collaboratory group, I felt the need to go for a walk outside. Although Kentridge (2012) invites for a walk within the studio, I think with the idea of walking playing a role in the pre-history of the making in my small “studio” in my room.
As I walk, I notice the abundance of rocks and pebbles on the trail.
Immersing myself in this moment of stillness and quietness with barely anyone around me, I ground myself on the rocks I am on. How do I further dialogue with/work with rocks? What is being changed in me as I continue to walk and move on top of these rocks? Walking pushes my mind to want to create something, to act further, to do, to move together with.
With my feet barely noticing nor feeling the touch of the rocks, I decided to bring some back to the studio.
Studio: renewed lens, renewed encounters
A pebble or a rock by itself seems very insignificant. Minute, it is easily missed and not given any attention. But multiplying that pebble to thousands, it is no longer insignificant. It is now part of a bigger picture that has the ability to move people- to walk, to jog, to run, to skip.
In the beginning of the year, Covid-19 was known as a new virus that killed dozens of people in the city of Wuhan, China. Not much media attention was given until dozens turned into hundreds, and hundreds into thousands. With numbers quickly escalating day by day, panic and anxieties continue to be present wherever we go.
I walk on top of these rocks today with nothing to protect my feet to physically feel the prick, the discomfort, the pain of my own weight on the rocks. Not being able to stay on top for long, my feet take steps back. Dotted markings that would eventually go away becomes my reminder for our current realities- people are still dying everyday.
I move on top of the rocks. With most people around me getting used to or are becoming comfortable with the ‘new normal’, it seems that the rocks no longer hold the same weight that they had in the beginning of the inquiry.
Reference:
Kentridge, W. (TAUVOD). (2012, June 24). A natural history of the studio . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm1juXIaCsg
