© Yasmine Akondo – The Essence of being

Description

The essence of being shows my personal visual translation on the absolute, reduced form of being and existence. At the center, I visualize the core of our entity, which I call the amorphous human being. It is our raw form, untouched by influences of our created world (with that I mean: outside influences, created by an imposed structure. i.e. The unnatural.) This core is cast in bronze, which gives value to the amorphous human being, to our soul, our basis of existence. This purest form, regardless of our physical death, will always exist. By making it no larger than a middle finger, it is the perfect talisman as a precious relic that we can always carry with us, so that we may remember to remain faithful to our true selves. The amorphous human is small, but precious. It moves into a wider sphere, a larger universe made up of energies. These energies connect everything in this universe. Out of the core, a sphere resonates. Think of it as air shifting with every movement or the traveling of sound waves, but on a larger, universal scale. Every movement has an influence, is felt, noticed. No matter how subtle. I translated this onto the image as a moonscape, which for us humans is the nearest form of ‘ the outside’ but has a major influence on our lives, here on earth. The amorphous human radiates energy and at the same time receives the energy of everything around it. As in my other work, here I am looking for a beacon of peace in our hectic lives where we often forget that our existence is the only thing that really matters. All our political, economic, educational, … systems are just imposed structures that are no necessities to live. In fact, they often make us sick. I try to return to the essence, to rest and meditation, the earthly and the heavenly, study this in various cultures and hope that amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, this sign may be a small point of reflection and introspection.