Ishida: Self-portrait of other

(On seeing Ishida Self-portrait Of Other)

There is a crisis of belonging in this world

A lost connection, A lost sense of community

We each have maps tattooed onto our skin

Which we hold close to our hearts, ever beating

Even while the rest of the world feels it is burning

Loneliness and isolation stalk this land, this time

When the tradition of a hand held has lost its way

The atmosphere can be thinner than on the moon

And yet we breath and breath and breath again

Seeking, Seeking Oxygen, Seeking Hope

What journeys of joy, journeys of sorrow, have you lived?

What maps are tattooed onto your skin this day?

Where have you stretched out your own hand for another?

What do you need on your quest for belonging?

How can we end Loneliness and Isolation for all?

Thursday I got to go to the newest exhibit at Wrightwood 659. "Ishida: Self-Portrait Of Other" pieces by Tetsuya Ishida around the subject of the "malaise and alienation wrought by a brutal economic system." 

There has been more and more conversation around the fact that there is a "crisis of belonging"*, an increase in social isolationism (individuals who do not feel they have acquaintances let alone friends or other relationships), and an increased lack of community and connection. Past social structures have changed and we have yet to find the deep and meaningful social structures of tomorrow. 

Ishida (who died in 2005 at the age 31) captures these feelings in his art. This exhibit calls on us to take a deep breath, do some deep self-reflection, and know in a world that can feel isolating we are not alone. It is up to us to creatively find ways to connect with others and build the social structures of tomorrow. This is not easy work but this is quietly rewarding work which we all much undergo.

* "Crisis of belonging": A term which Mayor Pete (Mr Pete Buttigieg) has used over and over again on the campaign trail