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Description
Our Lingnan residency, now in its fourth month, is a comprehensive exploration of creativity in day-to-day living. Creativity satisfies a portion of vital human needs: the need for autonomy, adventure, celebration, community, play, and spiritual harmony. Contemplating our artistic self is healthy. In some cases, artistic activity can be immensely healing, leading towards wholeness, balance, and integration. This project was enacted at both a communal and personal level for many of the participants, including myself.
Our own individual life force flows through us in intriguingly personal ways. We all have unique gifts to offer and uncover that no other person exactly has. Yet I have discovered here at Lingnan some dimensions in which we are beautifully similar. For example, observing the students and their individual artistic processes taught me that we all seem to go through a similar creative progression; embracing the threshold of creativity head-on moves us forward, even if sometimes it’s a bumpy ride. Faced with an unknown outcome, we may feel a dissonance, even anxiety, as we try to gain momentum. Yet through the very process of embracing mystery and challenge, and by being attentive to higher principles, we journey into surprising places. Transformation surrounds us, and as we listen and respond to our deeper creative self, significant movement and internal shifting occurs.
During my residency at Lingnan, I’ve been touched by the prevailing mood of service and concern, the depth and determination of the individual students, and the natural graciousness in everyone I’ve met. I hope you will enjoy the celebration showcased in this presentation.
Publication Date
Spring 4-2012
Publisher
Department of Visual Studies, Lingnan University
City
Hong Kong
Artist Biography
A Residency Project by Nicola Barcaleau.
Nicola Barsaleau grew up in South Africa, and she lived near Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban. Within these landscapes, she was introduced to authentic artistic expression, traditional handicrafts, and diverse spirituality. She trained as a printmaker in London and holds a degree from the University of Florida. She has illustrated a variety of publications, and, most recently, was commissioned as the poster artist for the 19th Biennial Conference of Marine Mammals. Her relief prints are in collections around the globe.
Residence Period
Janurary to May 2012
Exhibition Period
27 April to 14 May 2012
Exhibition Venue
Artist's Studio, NAB 323 3/F, New Academic Block Lingnan University 8 Castle Peak Road Tuen Mun Hong Kong
Closing Ceremony
3-5pm, 14 May 2012
Keywords
Artist-in-residence, art exhibition
Disciplines
Interdisciplinary Arts and Media | Visual Studies
Recommended Citation
Barsaleau, N. (2012). Embracing the threshold. Hong Kong: Department of Visual Studies, Lingnan University.