"At precisely 3:02 a.m. this morning, and for the next three hours during the “Blood Moon” total lunar eclipse, artist Lia Chavez stood waist deep in the cold seawater at New York’s Brookhaven Hamlet. Spinning fire in a circle, she performed Mirrormind in collaboration with the Something Machine gallery." - Artnet News
"Elicits enlightenment for mind, body, and soul alike." - Whitewall
Mirrormind (2022)
Endurance Performance, 3:39
A commission by The Something Machine
Presented by The Something Machine on the shore of the Great South Bay, Brookhaven Hamlet, NY, 2022
A Rite of Celestial Convergence
In the profound stillness of the early morning, as the Earth aligned beneath the shadow of the Blood Moon, Lia Chavez immersed herself waist-deep in the cold embrace of the Great South Bay. There, she spun fire in a ritualistic dance, embodying the union of water and flame, spirit and matter. This performance, titled Mirrormind, unfolded as a living meditation on the interwoven tapestry of the cosmos and the psyche.
The shoreline became a sacred anointing temple, where the ebb and flow of the tides transformed into a great mirror, reflecting the rhythms of both the human mind and the cosmos. Chavez's movements, both deliberate and spontaneous, focused on spinning roaring fire above the icy tides for a stunning 3 hours and 39 minutes. Her performance invoked the Neoplatonic vision of a universe where celestial patterns and human affairs are inextricably linked. Through a combination of movement and duration, Chavez awakened a continuum of intuitively attuned visual perception, exploring the painterly, ritualistic possibilities born from elemental communion. Reflections, refractions, shadows, vibrations, and retinal after-images emerged as the sea tides, modeled and patterned by the full moon, broadcast the circular form of the roaring fire above, spun into a golden circle.
As the firelight flickered against the darkened sky, Chavez's performance became a conduit for spiritual illumination. Evoking the “ocean of consciousness,” the interplay of light and shadow, reflection and refraction, served as a metaphor for the mysteries of existence, urging viewers to look beyond the surface and perceive the deeper truths lying beneath the surface of ordinary consciousness, within the great ocean of infinite awareness. In this ritual, the boundaries between self, Nature, and the cosmos dissolved, offering a glimpse into the eternal dance of the universe.
"Mirrormind invokes the sanctuary of the seashore, connecting its notable power for healing and contemplation to the starry skies above us and grounded mother nature below us." - Whitewall
"Explores luminosity—physical, spiritual, celestial." - Artnet News
Mirrormind is a transformative rite, designed to anoint the culture for a new regenerative age. Chavez formulated a limited edition anointing oil for the occasion, presented in 108 individually numbered bottles released by her botanical alchemy creative house, Hildegaard. This work recognizes a living, animate cosmos filled with spiritual intelligence, beauty, and structural perfection. Through this performance, Chavez invited her audience to step into a participatory ritual, anointing themselves, contemplating the great mysteries of existence, and experiencing a timeless, limitless connection with the cosmos—a moment of profound transformation.
MIRRORMIND
