Portals Mexico City
Curated by Ricky Lee Gordon Opening Thursday April 28th, 2022 / Mexico City PORTALS is a collective exhibition that presents the work of a group of international artists: Aaron Glasson, Aleph Geddis, Caledonia Curry AKA Swoon, Mario Arrroyave, Remed, and Ricky Lee Gordon. They all explore different mediums and formats to create pieces as portals to enter In Vedic texts, Māiā connotes a magic show, an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem. Māiā is the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real. Māiā also connotes that which is constantly changing and thus spiritually unreal and conceals the true character of spiritual reality. Under Māiā's influence, the Atman (the soul) mistakenly identifies with the body. Thus the illusioned soul identifies with the temporary body and everything connected to it. The soul aspires to control and enjoy matter under this sense of false ego (false identity). As a result, he often redoubles his efforts in frustration and, compounding mistake upon mistake, only falls deeper into illusion. But how do we come out of this illusion? First, recognize it and then go into openness to receive, but before it's necessary to empty the mind. To go into the sacred void to have clarity. To go into Sūnyata. Sūnyata or Emptiness comes from the root śūnya, which in the context of buddha-dharma means "empty" or "void," but also means "zero," "nothing," and "hollow." In the Buddha-nature teachings, it refers to empty awareness. The voidness constitutes ultimate reality; sunyata is seen not as a negation of existence but rather as the undifferentiation out of which all apparent entities, distinctions, and dualities arise. Sūnyata is also the name of the artist's residence, founded and hosted by artist Ricky Lee Gordon. Located on the Blue Beach Island on the southernmost coast of Sri Lanka created as a refuge for mindful, contemplative, and creative practices. Śūnyatā is a retreat back into the creative self, away from the past and the future noise, a reminder, and a reflection. For this exhibition, Śūnyatā Sri Lanka partnered with MAIA Contemporary to invite all past and future artists in residence to participate in this group show.
Śūnyatā Studios: Seseh Bali / Nilwella Sri Lanka