TRUE LIGHT
THE OCTAVE OF VISIBLE LIGHT: A MEDITATION NIGHTCLUB
“Lia Chavez’s bravura performance.” — Image Journal
True Light (2012)
Endurance Performance, 90 days
Multiple locations
In True Light, Lia Chavez undertook a radical ninety-day endurance performance as an act of devotional creativity. The work came to her in a sudden flash of inspiration during meditation—what she describes as a commanding inner directive—which she responded to without hesitation. Structured in three consecutive thirty-day phases of prayer, meditation, and silence, the performance unfolded as both ritual and revelation, progressively refining her perception and aligning her consciousness with what she calls the “divine source of creativity.” Rooted in ancient prophetic and ascetic traditions, True Light exemplifies Chavez’s contemplative methodology in which the body becomes a crucible for spiritual transmutation—a vessel and instrument through which divine insight is received and transmitted.
“Deploying her consciousness as an artistic material, she offers her flesh as a conduit or mirror, a prism refracting light.” — The Other Journal
Throughout the ninety days, Chavez observed a rigorous fast under the close supervision of doctors and nutritionists. Far from an exercise in asceticism alone, this physical deprivation was embraced as a form of spiritual nourishment. Her body’s surrender became a medium for transcendence, engaging in what she describes as embodied theurgy—a devotional practice invoking the divine through heightened consciousness and extreme discipline.
The title True Light draws inspiration from Abbot Suger’s inscription at the Basilica of Saint-Denis: “The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material, and, in seeing this light, is resurrected from its former submersion.” For Chavez, light operates as both material metaphor and mystical conduit—a bridge between earthly perception and spiritual illumination.
This vision of light manifested vividly throughout the performance. During the initial phase of prayer, Chavez reported encounters with “living light,” first experienced in the cave of St. Francis in Assisi. She entered what she describes as “superconscious states,” in which perceptions of light, elemental language, and harmonic resonance revealed themselves with extraordinary clarity. These visions echo a lifelong pattern of mystical experiences that have shaped her practice since childhood.
True Light also marked a pivotal moment in Chavez’s interdisciplinary collaboration with neuroscientists. Following a commanding inner directive, she initiated the monitoring of her brain activity during mystical vision states—laying the groundwork for her long-term meta-performance and scientific inquiry, On the Science of Mystical Vision. Now in an advanced stage, the project is yielding unprecedented scientific insights into the neural basis of visionary and ecstatic experience. This convergence of mysticism and neuroscience has deepened Chavez’s enduring inquiry into the phenomenology of light, first explored during her doctoral research at Goldsmiths.
What emerged was not only a transcendent perceptual shift but also a refined artistic methodology: a commitment to create solely from divinely inspired insight. This devotional mode has since become the foundation of her practice. The performance sparked new bodies of work, including large-scale paintings, multimedia pieces such as the Carceri exhibition at Two Rams Gallery, and a sculptural methodology that integrates natural elements into monumental light-based forms.
Chavez’s performance—uniting rigorous physical discipline with profound spiritual insight—draws from a lineage of embodied creativity rooted in ancient prophetic traditions, where the body becomes both medium and messenger of divine inspiration and creativity as sacred vocation. True Light stands as a pivotal moment in her unfolding exploration of light, creativity, and consciousness, offering a direct encounter with the origin of creation itself.
“By probing the inner landscapes of her mind, she harnesses creative insights that inspire fresh connections between art and science.” — The Other Journal
Details
True Light
Endurance Performance
September 1 - December 1, 2012
New York, USA; London, UK; Assisi, IT
Credits
Artistic director and performer: Lia Chavez
Documentation: David Bourla
Selected Press
