Connie DK Lane

This installation titled Circling is inspired by the traditional Japanese activities of ema and omikuji. Ema are votive plagues on which worshippers/visitors write prayers or wishes and they are tied to a stand. Omikuji is fortune-telling paper strips that are scrolled or folded up, attached to a tree or tied to a string. Both are in designated areas outside the shrines or temples.

Borrowing from the concepts of ema and omikuji, I used brush and ink drawing circles repetitively on Chinese grid papers, folded them up into strips and tied to the ropes in which I hung outdoors. In this time of constant visual assault in our daily lives, my act of circling serves as a mantra for peace. In the process of drawing and folding over and over and over again, not only do I feel a sense of direct concentration, but it also helps to induce a state of consciousness.

Being away from my studio in Long Beach and daily life, and secluding myself in a rural, isolated residency has provided me a time of reflection and experience working in a different location. Particularly, it has enabled me to explore this installation project in an outdoor environment.