mixed media collage
18" x 24"
Fall 2014
18" x 24"
Fall 2014
This series of seven pieces began with the intention of visually representing haiku, a form of poetry originating in Japan, typically known to be brief, concise, and beautiful. A particularly unique subset of haiku are jisei, also known as Japanese Death Poems. These poems are written just prior to the author's death, and as such express a singularly unique and clear view of life.
"Like most haiku, jisei seeks to transcend thought and create an “Ah, now I see” moment. Jisei strives to connect the reader with the poet’s mind just as they are poised at the end. Haiku tries to remove our dualistic ways of thinking, the division between beauty and ugliness, life and death, future and present." (source)
As a young person, this viewpoint was especially different and unknown to me– I live in an impatient, busy, and chaotic world. These pieces seek to both ask the question, "At the edge of death, what does life look like?" and cut through the chaos in order to find some clarity.
Empty-handed I entered
The world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going —
Two simple happenings
The world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going —
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.
– Kozan Ichikyo, died February 12, 1360, at 77.
A few days before his death, he called his pupils together, ordered them to bury him without ceremony, forbidding them to hold services in his memory. After writing this poem on the morning of his death, he lay down his brush and died sitting upright.
