PERSONAL
UNCONSCIOUS
Personal Unconscious ponders on the indivisible wholeness of beings.
As synthesized by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the personal unconscious is “everything of which I know, but of which I am not at the moment thinking”. Faye Abantao explores the binding power of context over the mind; not the thinking/ feeling process itself, but the awareness behind them.
The artist collects and deconstructs archival prints. She expands with a cluster of disciplines which includes origami, digital collage, printing and/or painting. Every transition, like consciousness, is developed slowly and laboriously:
To tear and fold
Tear the mind-made clutter away so that only silence remains. Separate yourself from what “your” and “self” might mean. Recognize the twofold presence of content (experiences) and structure (concept of self). Only within the separation can a space for consciousness arise. It is a place from which all beginnings came to be. Only within that space will you encounter inner peace; unharmed by the past.
To make the same
Identification comes from the Latin words “idem” (same) and “facere” (to make). To identify with others literally translates to finding one’s self in others rather than seeing their otherness exclusively. Somewhere in the sameness that links “my-self” is a room of profound calmness. It is a place where everything yet to unfold is kept. Only within that space will I encounter inner strength; unburdened by the future.
To become
The concept of detaching from one’s mind exists in all spiritual practices. Metanoia which is commonly understood as a “change of heart” translates more accurately to “beyond the mind”. To have thought, to have felt, to have done... "e sum of all such contents is a space where the personal unconscious rests. Spaciousness is found in the acceptance of its overwhelming totality. It is a place where we are now. Only within this space will we encounter inner joy; at home in the present.
—Text by Guenivere Decena
Solo Exhibition
Orange Project, Bacolod City, Philippines
September 2020
