Ego Death

A complete loss of subjective self identity. A transformation of the psyche. A phase of self surrender and transition. What is it to completely lose your sense of self? What does it bring? How can we utilize this loss in order to transform into versions of ourselves that serve us best? How do you thrive and grow when you are uprooted from the very place you knew so well? 

When I embarked upon the journey of building my creature, all of these questions had been running through my mind for months, if not years before. I wanted to build a space for remembrance, growth, and reflection. I was at a place with my own art where I felt it could communicate itself in concept, but it was not reaching its audience as adequately as it could be. To deal with human emotion and experience, human beings have to be directly involved in the work. There must be room for touch; for a genuine sensory experience. 

In my eyes, the treatment and presentation of sculpture has always been limiting. How am I supposed to understand the artist by simply gazing upon the structure they have built for months or years? How will I have met and understood it at a distance? We see art as fragile, but there is nothing stronger than the human experience. I see all art as human experience in one way or another. Through art, I can meet the artist and understand where they have been in life and the path they yearn for. By crawling into the stomach of an unidentified creature with only the trust and assurance of the artist, we are perpetuating the physical act of letting our guard down. This is something we have to do every day in life in order to learn and grow as people. When ego death overtakes us, we can only fight it for so long. We let go in hopes that surrendering to the unknown will bring us clarity eventually with time.