A few years ago I did a series of three pastel and charcoal images representing incarceration, i.e. bars, chains and barbwire. I was really focused on the visual aspect and didn't put more thought into it until two years ago when I was preparing for a solo exhibit which I labelled Cognition. Reflecting on the images I realized that I too was incarcerated by bars and chains and barbwire, and yet I thought I was free. I recreated the three images exactly only this time I applied a little reality check.
When I look around me at all the ' stuff ' I've accumulated, at all the unnecessary waste and at all the ' Gotta haves ' I still want, I know it will take a mighty saw to cut through the bars I've created over the years. I don't even know if I want to break free because, truth be known, I like my ' stuff '!
And of course those bars, they come with a pretty impressive chain made up of an impressive number of links. Link by link, the banks, the credit cards, the loans, and even all the different point programs various corporations like to hook us with, are ensuring that chain grows longer and stronger. I could really use a heavy duty chain cutter!
That being said, when it comes right down to it, even if I had the right saw and the ideal chain cutter, as long as my thoughts keep me imprisoned I will never truly be free. I really believe that our thoughts are the most powerful tool we have with which we can change our lives. They can either keep us enclosed like barbwire or set us free. I'm sad to say that to date I haven't managed to remove all the barbs that prevent me from reaching my higher self. Still, I guess the most important thing is to remove them one at a time and eventually my mind will be a peaceful place where only creativity exists.
1 comment:
Food for thought. It is quite interesting to think of the ways we incarcerate ourselves, as we add more and more responsibilities to our lives, tieing ourselves down until freedom seems such a long way away.
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