The Diorama of Accidental Temples

2023

Workshop

What could be a temple of the present? Could it be all landscapes and random places where we find ourselves enlightened?

An existentially important moment in life can happen anywhere, whether it's a riverbank or a line for a coffee. So why not think about these flexible boundaries of temples that emerge when we need or are ready for them?

The main function of the temple is to change your state to go deeper, and further, to transcend your consciousness. For this purpose, a special atmosphere is created, starting with the shape of the space, light, smells, and sounds. But sometimes other external factors of influence drive us into similar states of experiencing a divine moment when it seems to us that we are rediscovering the world around us. And this happens without an artificially created environment but in an organic way. I think this phenomenon requires more significant attention to practice the temple anywhere.

The methodology I proposed is based on using memories of enlightenment for the co-creation of a joint diorama as a new interface of interconnectedness between the participants. Each of us created a list of what we found around us at the moment of enlightenment and made a map with connections. A joint hand engraving on the transparent plexiglass gave us an excellent metaphorical effect when the images are visible when illuminated with light.