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What to Do | March 13 | From
Vennila
dear eric,
below is an announcement for installation that is
very much related to your cover series of 'what to do'. may be you can share it
amidst the community of peace workers...?
i shall be working on a larger (nation-wide)
project in the near future calling for personal peace action. if artists are
interested in collaboration, i welcome their association. there is need in
particular for people who are not afraid of web-work but in my universe
he(art)'s intent takes precedence over skill-set.
love,
vennila prayer flags (for peace)
An installation by artist Vennila nr
Kain
Date: March 15-24, 2006
Location: 112 W44th Street, Manhattan,
NY.
To mark the third anniversary of the official
declaration of the War on Iraq, artist Vennila nr Kain sets up her prayer flags
(for peace) in Times Square.
The installation is a delicate network of
crisscrossed prayer flags similar to the Tibetan prayers flags strung over
sacred spaces. The wind carries up the prayers from the flags to the realm of
gods, or as blessings over land.
In this case, the artist uses weathered images of
fallen soldiers as her prayer flags so that their lives (and death) may bring
about the possibility of peace over land. Spread amidst the prayer flags of
images of dead soldiers are four numerals corresponding to the current American
death toll in Iraq.
The floor is littered with shredded pure white
paper symbolizing the silent and unknown numbers of Iraqi men, women &
children and other incidental human cost of war such as contractors and security
guards, many of whom are hired from third world nations of this world.
The entire process of the installation, from
conception to preparation to execution is done very much with the lineage of
prayer flags and the war dead in mind, and hence in a prayerful, pacifist,
mindful, meditative manner while softly chanting for healing and peace.
This window installation is part of the ongoing
series of 'being peace' art created by the artist Vennila nr Kain. The series
began with the living art installation "Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army"
incorporating aspects of ritual fasting, mourning & meditation for two weeks
in January 2004.
Project page: www.sendasalami.com
Vennila nr Kain is an actor,
poet, yogini, performance artist, humbly committed to the Gandhian philosophy of
being the change she wants to see in the world. She may be found at www.vennila.net
This installation is supported by chashama. www.chashama.org | ||||||
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