“This is an exhibition of the type of art I believe is really needed: giving us a direction, giving us meaning, and holding us while going through the storm.”
Sylvie Barbier, curator · Read more in her words
We are taken through the intention behind the exhibition curated by Life Itself co-founder and artist Sylvie Barbier. She shares the importance of spiritual practice in this time of uncertainty through the art of sitting with impermanence.
Luc Waring share his relationship with death from his mindfulness practice through a series of paintings of the Grim Reaper.
Paz Perlman shares their story and meaning behind the art work "I give you my word" which was part of the Art of Impermanence exhibition.
Sylvie Barbier here shares her journey of navigating grief and peace with the coexistence of the death of her father and her coming child, which inspired the theme of the exhibition on impermanence.
Paul Tingen shares the relationship between his music and the Buddhist teaching around impermanence.
Max Pugh shares about his contemplation of impermanence through his video installation work "Nothing will ever stop the music" made in 2022 after the pandemic.
This performance is the first act of Metamorphosis a transformative opera by Sylvie Barbier.
The artist went to record the damages of a wild fire which took place in France. She contrasts the destruction with the innocence of her two year old son. The fire is a direct reminder of the impermanent nature of life
Personally, as an artist, I started working on the theme of impermanence in about 2021. I was getting more and more familiar with the five remembrances in Buddhism, and also the memento mori in Christianity, about going back to dust. It was always those five remembrances, written behind me in English by myself and in Chinese by my mother, that had a huge grasp on me. I would often cry reading them. My mother used to study the history of art, and as a child you see that a lot of artwork touches that sense of impermanence: in French you say nature morte, where you see the decay of the flowers, or the skulls.
Living here next to Plum Village, what was really important for me was finding artists who had a real practice, where you could feel that their meditation and their spirituality were really present in their work. Throughout the years I got to meet artists who live around the region, such as Max Pugh, Paz Perlman and Luc Waring. I really wanted to create an exhibition that would touch the type of art I believe is really needed: giving us a direction, giving us meaning, and holding us while going through the storm.
We’re experiencing a moment of meaning crisis, where the values we grew up with have only carried us so far and we really struggle to have a vision for the future. I believe artists can play a huge role, and art can play a huge role, in allowing us to confront our cognitive dissonance and our attachment, and to mourn together.
In January 2024 my father passed away. I thought the best way to honour him, and for me to go through this process, but also to live the life I really wanted – because for many years I had been taking care of him and not always exploring my art as much as I wanted – was: now is the time. Now is the time to really honour that. So the idea was to create an exhibition around that theme, bringing in artists who had that practice, and also to make a magazine alongside it, to reach a greater audience.
So we are here today, where you see the marvellous artwork of different artists that all touch, in different dimensions, that sense of impermanence. I hope it helps people feel held, so they can be with the impermanent nature of reality.
From the film of the exhibition (2024), lightly edited from the spoken English.