Below the minimal veneer of simplicity, the installation asks a deeper question about our relationship to consciousness and individuality whilst exploring the mechanisms of perception. 

 

Inspired by the exhibition's location and a graveyard's function in society I started to explore the concept of consciousness and spirit, which led me to Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah. The broadly translated spirit or soul consists of distinct parts three of which are within our comprehension: Nefesh, Ruach and Neshama. The base of the sculpture corresponds to the life force Nefesh, the lowest level of consciousness and most connected to the physical body, a world of Action Asiya. A person does not possess a nefesh but is one. Ruach is the next higher plane of consciousness, here we recognise the Ruach in a person through their emotions and personal qualities. It acts as a connection between nefesh and neshama.The Neshama, is where contemplation and knowledge-seeking occurs, it is focussed on a divine concept, pulling the person to their G*d and performing good deeds.

 

The concept of three is mirrored again by the sides of each section. A distorted reality  is created by breaking down the boundaries of our perceived world, elevating the earth into the sky, giving the formless sections of the soul a form, blurring the line between the tangible and intangible. The jutting, awkward and displaced form of the central column intends to crystallise the difficulty of presenting something unseen and scientifically unproven as it reaches towards the heavens. The work resists embellishment stripping back the figurative to present something raw and minimalist, avoiding visual pollution.