Blog # 75…November 2017
There’s a weird disconnect in the air these days…on the one
hand, confessionals where people’s dirty laundry is spread out in full view and
on the other, glorious pics ( often photo shopped) of svelte and gorgeous characters eating delicious meals in fabulous
settings. Neither is anywhere near where
most of us live. One minute we seem to be more tolerant of deviance from what used
to be thought of as the norm and less so the next. Exposure of men in power and their
exploitation of women continues to be a daily feature in the news. We’re caught
up in fantasy and immersed in reality at the same time.
So, life is remarkable and full
of contradictions, what else is new. I just heard Scott Kelly talk about his book Endurance where he recounts growing up with his twin
brother Mark as distractible, mischievous little demons, not much good at
school. Both boys went on to be astronauts: Scott commanded the International
Space Station on three expeditions; Mark, who served on many missions also, is
the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, former US Congresswoman who was shot in
2011. Both Kellys have written books and
actively advocate for gun control. Not bad for kids who were unremarkable and
probably drove their parents nuts.
I was also struck recently by hearing artist Kanika Gupta
talk about her difficult recovery from a concussion. In the hours that stretched to days, then
weeks and months when she was unable to do much more than lie still in a dark
room, she had a lot of thinking time.
Her show ReThink Recovery opened recently at Lakeshore Arts in Etobicoke
(a neighbourhood to the west of downtown Toronto). Kanita’s practice includes
painting, ceramics, photography, printmaking and illustrations. She uses visual
arts, and storytelling to expand understanding of the healing process and
those who find themselves “on the fringes of normalcy”. In her workshops she uses a variety of art forms to explore what recovery means and alternative ways of being.
An example of Kanita’s visual challenge to cultural and medical assumptions about recovery is a ceramic piece, broken and then reassembled. Not as it was but interesting in a unique way. She questions our notions of health, beauty, wholeness and worth, and establishes a new set of values that are more inclusive and embody what it means to be human.
Sometimes I despair of where the world is going and wonder if we’re really moving forward or backward since we started walking upright…then I come across something about the Kelly twins or Kanita Gupta and feel more hopeful. I'm also touched by the pluckiness of our Iraqi family and.appreciate the many very good dudes I know. So find your own sunny ways to get through dark November and so long for now.
