Sára Várady

I exhibited this installation at the Southwark Park Galleries as well as a live performance piece for the private view, held and organised by the Royal College of Art, MA Print course 11-14 March, 2022. The performance was related to my etching series that was displayed in lightboxes of my design. They were displayed in a triangular position playing with height and space allowing me to perform amongst them and the audience to wander between them. The first box was on the floor, the second one was at eye level and the third piece was above eye level, so the viewer could not avoid participation but physically adapt to experience them. This installation served the idea of the etching series: as the image elevated, the represented consciousness expanded.

 

The etching series presents an evolution of consciousness from a singular point of view, which then spreads and reaches the collective level. 'Bigger than Me', 'Bigger than You' and 'Bigger than all of Us' are part of a series that was inspired by the energy that surrounds us. Something bigger than all beings, that creates connection between each other and unites us. Some might call it God. 'Bigger than Me' shows the experience from a singular point of view. Myself/ the viewer meets with a higher self that raises them up to the level of Oneness. The next image of the series is called 'Bigger than You' which expands the idea, and the experience to others (outside of us) while the last image of the series 'Bigger than all of Us' presents how this kind of understanding and embodied feeling spreads through everybody. 

 

The performance itself focused on the journey of reaching the stage of higher consciousness from an individual’s perspective, the roots of the idea are from my personal experience. At the time, I lived in a 190*280 cm room and I felt like it is more relevant than ever to not lose motivation but keep on going and thrive. I believe many people experienced or are currently experiencing similar conditions that may even be the result of the recent pandemic. I wished to show that we can overcome any obstacles even if they are scary or do not look possible at first. This I’ve done with yoga for the last four years. Yoga has never disappointed me. It forces me to be in the present, be with myself, ease into the pain, breathe and create space in tension both physically and emotionally. As a result, within the performance I was practicing Yin yoga, which is a slow-paced style of yoga. Poses are traditionally held for 3 minutes or more. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body known as meridians in Chinese medicine and as nadis in hatha yoga.

 

During the performance I was wearing a hand-painted body suit and a VR headset. What I experienced in the virtual reality space was livestreamed to a TV screen. In this way I expanded my experience and involved the audience in my transition of consciousness and made it their experience too. The VR headset was showing a 3D scan of my room where I usually practice, but reinvented through the artistic expression of Charlie Pannel, my friend and graduate of Central Saint Martins. The virtual reality of my room also showed elements of nature, such as a grassy floor and a sky seen through the missing roof.

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I included an interactive element to my performance: at the end of the yoga sequence, I offered a glass bowl to the viewers to take a personal note which included quotes from several books I have read, or thoughts and beliefs I have. It is my hope that the note inspired something in them to take action or receive positive change.