The Birth of Breath by Janne Melajoki
The course was from the very beginning an introspective healing process by finding burned traces of past experiences. A deep study of mind and body which eventually led to becoming stronger and balanced by facing and accepting own weaknesses.
Experimenting with charcoal has seemed to me that for now the powder is the most giving and at the same time forgiving. It has its own messy nature, but an ability to transform in many potential outcomes. An fascinating thing lies in the material as it has many forms and stories in the narration. The temporality of past, present and the future and how the traces, the hints of what happened, are left in.
Even though we humans tend to believe we can control and tame nature, the inner and outer world, we all live under the same forces of life. The weight of the past winters broke and burned out the false belief of the Katajainen kansa -myth. The burden and fears of accepting weakness. However, facing it can become the strongest energy to inhale. The calmness and acceptance lied in the gentle breath that was hidden inside. The traces just waited to be discovered to blow new life in the ashes full of invisible sparks.
With these insights my final outcome was an art performance of my own creative journey. A symbolic movement with the aspects of material, time & energy combined to become visible.
Material: Powdered Charcoal, Photograph
Photographs: Janne Melajoki unless otherwise stated
Quote: Ronnberg, Ami, and Kathleen Martin, (2010) The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images, chapter Breath, p. 16
- Published:
- Updated: