IMMERSIVE LIGHT ART INSTALLATION, 2023
by Monique Lorden, 1985Poet
Rest Is A Part of The Work x Ancestors In Reach was birthed from rest and poetry. This immersive and massive light art installation invites you to rest and dream. It welcomes to you reflect and wonder. Each instillation stands on its own and works together to challenge and comfort us.
Lights Only: Rest Is a Part of the Work is an LED illuminated instillation that promotes pause. It urges you to say, I deserve time and space for rest. Rest is a part of the creative process. It allows you to restore your mind and renew your creativity. There are 6 main forms of rest:
- Time away
- Connection to art and nature
- Solitude to recharge
- Stillness to decompress
- Safe space
- Permission to imagine
Lights Only is also a think piece for those who connect to its juxtaposed reminder of “whites only”. It urges others to remember where we were and question if we are still there. It urges others to question injustice in its various forms. It urges all to be the light, to sit, and to rest. Rest is a part of the work.
Ancestors In Reach is 20 foot x 17 foot immersive light art installation that invites you to walk through. Feel the air around you. Dream of it. Honor its ethereal nature. Find comfort in closeness. Our ancestors are always in reach.
I am the result of a dream
but not just dreams conceived by me
or countless scenes crossing memories of that only a parent can foresee
It was many dreams from my ancestors who often had nothing else but
I am because they did
I bloom but not all on my own
I was but a seed
a collection of tears
fell into fields of dreams
and watered me
I grew into a mighty oak
with roots than run deep
to reunite me with where it all began
my roots still speak to me
so if you see me in the trees
native to resilience and majesty
know that I’m listening
for the whispers of ethereal beings
who sacrificed their lives for me
- Monique Lorden, excerpt from Ramble Young Girl Ramble

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