Breathe with the Wind

'works'

(2021)

sonic meditation installation & sound ceremony

Breathe with the Wind is a site-specific sound installation/sound ceremony that explores the ultimate dimension of intimacy with the earth. The work engages to curate a contemplative space for the participants to find an awareness or closer relation to nature. In particular, the air element is symbolic to the work through the perception of winds enfolding our inhaled and exhaled breaths as a collective air.

[Image description: ten musicians standing in a line and playing outdoors in nature]

The project took place at a local park in Ann Arbor, Thurston Nature Cente. This green space is dedicated to educating and providing space to learn for those in the school system and community about the natural world around them.

[Image description: drone aerial photo of a pond in a suburban area]

In collaboration with my visual artist colleague, Sophia Schwartz, we curated a one-week-long meditative space in a specific area of the park with a wooded trail. From the trees along the trail, we hung handmade windchimes made of capiz shells and text prompts that focused our attention on the experience of the wind and air. Some prompts address internal awareness of the body and mind, while some invite us to imagine external relationships to the nature surrounding us. The experience of reading these prompts in nature aspires to cultivate the feeling of interconnectedness and support for the earth.

[Image description: a text prompt on a wood disc hanging from a tree with a background of the audience sitting on the grass and witnessing the sound ceremony]