ENFOLD is an exploration on meditation, forgiveness and gentleness. Whilst struggling with a situation where she felt she couldn’t simply ‘forgive and forget’, Francesca instead decided to create a domestic ritual for herself. Inspired by the paintings of Yayoi Kusama and N.S. Harsha, she became fascinated by the idea of repeated motifs and physical actions that she could use, day by day, to slowly draw closer to forgiving. This took the form of an origami crane: simultaneously representing freedom and transformation.
The continual processes of drawing and folding, replicating the same movements and images again and again, provides an opportunity to enter a more peaceful mode, a state of autopilot that allows one to process and move forwards. It invites us to reframe forgiveness as a continual process, rather than an instant decision. It’s a method to not judge ourselves when we can’t immediately let go of pain and hurt, but instead encourage us to find incremental ways to rebuild and let go in time.
Instead of trying and failing to forgive all at once, these small embodied rituals allow us to let go little by little. To embody and experience our feelings fully, without judgement, in order to edge our way slowly and gently towards peace. While Francesca is still working on it, ENFOLD is a display of some of this process as it continues.
One Wall Gallery, Bethnal Green
August – October 2019
