If I think of breath I immediately experience it as a polarity. I am reminded of the presence of breath in those that have just been born as well as those that are struggling at the very end of their lives. Having experienced this regularly during my nursing years I was once again made aware of breath, but this time within the creative arts. In this context, breath and breathing pertains to the creative life-force that is exchanged between and through creatives; something that I have not come across commonly in South Africa ...
During the recent National arts Festival Aardklop 2019 I was privileged to have felt this exchange. Being surrounded by generous, intuitive, sensitive, caring creatives was, for me, as if I was being injected with new life-force simply by being surrounded by them. In particular I refer to MAPSA who, through their unconditional creative generosity, carried my work from the moment it was collected from them until those that made their way back to my studio yesterday. Thank you to the Gentle Giant @harriesiertsema as well as to @mornéramasy @seretsesliqfeilpop and @abriefourie for being the holding space for not only myself, but also for many more artists. Thank you to curator @JohanThom for the opportunity and to @mymalaika_photography for documenting much of the work pertaining to the festival!
Certainly there was a reason that I swirled around in my performance dress as seen below ... I was energised through creative breathing!
photo credit @vrpotgieter