Event 2 Mnemoawari

This week I attended Eli Joteva’s art solo show-- -- Mnemoawari. Upon entering, I first encountered a refreshing projection on the wall (image below). It turns out that the image is a transcription of Eli’s roommate’s brain wave while sleeping. A cup of water was put aside her roommate and recollected to exhibit this result. This is quite exciting for me because I have been fascinated by the idea of human brain wave for a long time. If we can somehow collect and interpret these brain waves, we can communicate without speaking a word. This is very helpful for those who are suffering from aphasia and furthermore people speaking different languages may communicate without difficulty. Now it is amazing to see that a cup of water is able to capture these brain waves. Without our awareness, the fluctuations our brain waves have caused are permanently inscribed in the ambiance. And this seems to induce the main body of the show, which I will discuss next.


As I stepped into the room, three large spheres were seen hanging from the ceiling. Each of them is made up of flowers, fungi and rocks that are surrounded by ice and sand. Over the course of three days, the surrounding ice and sand would fade away and the inner parts would remain. These processes aim to resemble issues such as global warming and land loss. Gradual melting of the ice and loss of the sand changes the original perfect spherical shape and leaves the barren inner texture exposed. Imagine that the spheres represent the earth. Then this is what going to happen if global warming and land loss continue to take place. Moreover, it indicates that the process is irreversible. The melt ice and sand in the plates below can never go back to their original position. It should to some extent draw our attention to protect the environment as once the damage is done, it would be difficult for us to restore it.




















From my point of view, a broader implication of the show is about the transience of time. Time keeps moving forward without being affected by human activities. At each second, the world is different from itself a second ago. The present is one of the countless possibilities of future of the past. This process occurs silently, sometimes even without our perception of it. Moreover, there is no way to stop such a process and the course of time is irreversible, just like the melting ice. Without our awareness, our behavior is affecting the world and forms what has passed, just like the image of dream waves. What we call present has become past when I finish this sentence. Time, as plenty of beauties of the nature, is transient. But we should not feel sorrow about this, because the future is awaiting us and countless possibilities are to be explored. I strongly recommend this event and the experience is so meditating.


                                                                 Proof of Attendance





Reference
Dowden, Bradley. Time. N.p. N.d.
       http://www.iep.utm.edu/time/
Anderson, David. Philosophy and Time. N.p. N.d.
       http://www.andersoninstitute.com/philosophy-and-time.htm
Unknown. Time. Jan 24, 2014. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/time/
Unknown. Philosophy of Time. N.p. N.d.
http://www.exactlywhatistime.com/philosophy-of-time/
Unknown. Modern Philosophy. N.p. N.d.
       http://www.exactlywhatistime.com/philosophy-of-time/modern-philosophy/


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