Elements of hUmaNITY

3 April 2023 

Robyn Mallery

Today begins a unique opportunity that I was accepted into. The accepted artists connect with each other, a collective from around the world, share our culture with the world,challenge ourselves creatively, and discover the beauty in several foreign cultures!

"Elements of hUmaNITY: The Collective Mind, Body, Soul Experience" is a collaboration between House of Urnebes and Awakened Creators aimed at exploring how different cultures interpret the concepts of: Mind, Body and Soul. 

Each artist will create three pieces of art in three weeks:

The 1st piece will represent their artistic/cultural interpretation of “mind”. 

The 2nd piece will represent their artistic/cultural interpretation of “body”. 

The 3rd piece will represent their artistic/cultural interpretation of “soul”. 

LABYRINTH / WEEK 1 : MIND

When I think of the mind, I think of its main function of processing information and how cyclical it can be. The hardest thing that I have had to work at processing is my trauma. Navigating the process of healing traumas over the last four years has felt a lot like a labyrinth because it doesn’t really ever end, but the path gets easier and more familiar every time you circle back around. Inside the labyrinth shows internal growth, or what the individual can see, and outside of the labyrinth is the physical manifestations of the work put in, or what others see. In the bottom right corner, the fabric frays as it escapes the labyrinth, representing a healing on the inside that is not well expressed on the outside. There is also a tree growing from the mind, shown inwardly and outwardly, expanding into a forest. On the left, scary spikes protrude from a locked door that contains the trauma. The door represents the loss of memory. These spaces must be passed through on your walk through the labyrinth. Blank space is left intentionally to represent the unknown and how much room there is for growth.

FORM AND FORMATION OF ROBYN / WEEK 2 : BODY

This piece shows the changes of my human form from childhood to adulthood. As a transmasculine individual, my body looks different than most. It doesn’t fit into the realm of female or male, but rather boasts a little bit of each - something I have grown comfortable with. This artwork shows these changes and ambiguous areas in a positive light, highlighting the differences of bodies. After all, bodies are but mere vessels for all of these smiling faces and vast experiences.

WHERE IS THE SOUL LOCATED? / WEEK 3 : SOUL

I approached this prompt from a visual perspective. Where is the soul? How do I describe the soul for a viewer rather than a listener? The soul feels like such an impossible concept to present visually, because there is no way to put how I imagine it onto paper. So what is a soul? It is the metaphysical representation of the culmination of one's mind, personality, beliefs, and similar attributes. One thing I have used to represent my consciousness and core values is the stingray, which is seen swimming along the arm of the figure. I also left the impression of a stingray smile on the chest of the figure. Being as the soul is a non-physical aspect of a person, I realized that there is no particular part of the body it resides in. Maybe it swims through our body and in our bloodstream. Maybe that is what my stingray soul enjoys. 

Thank you for reading!

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