Chapter 14: Lifeline, A Water Storytelling Project
Cosmic Events and Togetherness
A few nights ago, my husband Mike and I stood in our driveway looking at the astounding luminous super moon in partial eclipse. A dark shadow slid across the top of its sphere. It was breathtaking.
Whenever we have a cosmic event–an eclipse, a meteor shower, aurora borealis, etc–something wonderful takes hold of us. We are brought into a largeness together, reminding us of the fact that we live on a planet in a vast and mysterious universe. I love that millions of people look up at the same time, in awe and wonder, even just for a few moments, considering the reality of our existence. I wish we would do that much more often.
That is why I aim to create projects that bring people together around water and the cosmos, to feel our interconnectedness with all beings and the universe in totality.
The Po River’s ancient name was Eridanus, which is also the name of the vast river constellation. It was believed that Eridanus was a guide given by the gods to aid human navigation and an understanding of time. This exhibition connects the stars and the waterways and traces the arc of my entire artistic oeuvre, inviting exploration of perspective, mapping, water storytelling, constellations and connections between past, present and future.
The Wings of Daylight
Brightness appears showing us everything
it reveals the splendors it calls everything
but shows it to each of us alone
and only once and only to look at
not to touch or hold in our shadows
what we see is never what we touch
what we take turns out to be something else
what we see that one time departs untouched
while other shadows gather around us
the world’s shadows mingle with our own
we had forgotten them but they know us
they remember us as we always were
they were at home here before the first came
everything will leave us except the shadows
but the shadows carry the whole story
at first daybreak they open their long wings.
-W.S.Merwin
Thank you for being here with me. I welcome your comments and questions, always!
Love, MM
absolutely love this! see you soon ❤️
I look forward to your “water stories”.
They are amazingly beautiful and insightful in language and in art.