~ Three Doors of Liberation ~
Three Doors of Liberation is a reflection on what we do with each moment in life. It brings into question whether or not we are:
1. paying attention to our surroundings, ourselves, and one another,
11. learning deeply across all experiences, and
111. finding clarity to lead a life and leave behind the legacy we’d like.
The prompts, structures, and path through each room invite people to witness, reflect on, and embrace rewilding as a way to find clarity given the distractions we are often immersed in and limits we cemented for ourselves in modern civilization.
Layout
The exhibit will be placed in a garden, with three chambers with space and flooring for wheelchairs and braille descriptions for those who are not able to see:
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The first chamber will have a modern solitary confinement door, hard walls with off white paint, fake decorative plants, cold floors with expensive leopard print branded sneakers lying around, semi closed plantation shutters, industrialized food scattered about, latest pop music playing, a laptop with several windows open playing videos, news media coverage on a big screen, tiktok videos playing on a phone, a decorative bookshelf on a corner table with a mindfulness book serving as support for a wine glass, and ceiling with bright trendy lights
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The second chamber will have a wooden door with metal handles, artisanal tiles, real plants, brick walls, wood beams and furniture, glass windows, more relaxing ambient music, smaller screen showing an environmental documentary, a tiny gallery of a few deep books next to the tv, proper vegan lunch served on a table, pictures of loved ones in the walls, and ceramic ceiling
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The third chamber will have a beaded entrance like a tent with a thin wooden frame, the loosely covered natural garden floor, somewhat transparent curtains with small and simple flora and fauna depictions, one calligraphy from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that says ‘nothing to do, nowhere to go’, the Iain McGilchrist book ‘The Matter With Things’ next to a small assortment of delicious healthy foods for breakfast, evidence of group play and handprints of a family, and straw ceiling
Path
The path will be a recommended, unidirectional route through each door to indicate progress and feature a loop in each room to symbolize the tortuous journey in one’s life. By following it, people will walk by the word ‘clarity’ in all rooms but will only be able to see each word if they look attentively or explore beyond the path and find their own way back to it. This is a physical analogy of how we find (and lose) our way in life given our inclinations and guidance for walking, how we walk the path (alone and with the influence of others), what obstacles we come across, and any other circumstances that can make the journey arduous or simple.
Prompts
The title of the piece is a homage to the practice of concentration in all Buddhist traditions through emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness that helped shape this exhibit and are alluded to in each room by the means of prompts and the arrangement of furniture and objects.
The first door will have a prompt above it that says ‘abandon all views ye who enter here’ and a few faded stickers of child writing and doodles will read ‘clarity’ and be almost completely covered by decoration and technology. This first prompt is an adaptation of the famous line at the gates of Dante Alighieri’s hell, slightly adjusted to free people from their current views (not hope!) in order to be aware of and embrace what each room shows.
The third door will have a large prompt that says: ‘what we do in life echoes in eternity’ and ‘clarity’ will be prominently stitched in the tent’s fabric for all to see. The third prompt is a famous quote from the academy award winning film Gladiator to nudge everyone more directly to be aware of how they carry themselves through the exhibit and how they may enter other spaces and leave behind actions that are appropriate and worthy of repetition.
The second door will have a prompt that says ‘are you there yet?’ and again ‘clarity’ will be spelled out in a few tiles along the path and with a piece of art in a meditation area off to the right side of the room. Like the Buddhist concept of Nirvana, the second prompt plays with the notion that reaching enlightenment is about quickly reaching an end point after walking briskly through a dull environment. Instead, Nirvana is a state of mindfulness in each step in the present moment, which requires relinquishing our attachments to views, the illusions and anxieties mankind creates about the past and future.
The way out of the tent is a large curtain, flowing to the garden with an Exit sign and the prompt: ‘mindfully, please’. This is the final hint, in a wilder and meditation-friendly setting, that the exit is the last chance of reassessing our presence and what example each of us leaves behind (in the exhibit, at least) as we move back to the natural world, the garden and its wonders. Hopefully, the lesson manages to leave the room with each and everyone.
On The Inside
Secondhand furniture and items would be added in each style to allow people to sit down and use different writing tools (from a tablet, to pen and sticky notes, to pencil and paper, then screen again at the end) to note down their answers to the prompt ‘what are you doing here’. It is key that people take their time to respond in each room. All feedback would be collected for analysis afterwards. All furniture and items would be donated to communities in need or sold to raise funds for key resources people need in the area.
Description
The description of the work should only be at the end, after the exit, outside the last chamber, next to a sign that says: "If you didn’t get it, don’t let the door hit you on the way out" ~ just kidding ~ it will say: "take a deep breath and go again." The explanatory sign outside the last chamber should read: “About this work: Three Doors of Liberation offers an experience for reflecting on the structures mankind has designed (physical, political, economic, social, etc.) and how they keep us from being fully present to observe our surroundings, who is next to us, where we come from and go to, and how we are doing along the way. The prompts, structures, and Set path through each room invite all to witness, reflect on, and embrace rewilding to find clarity amidst the many distractions we are immersed in and the limits we either carelessly cemented or blatantly disregarded in our search for dominance over life's unpredictability.
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