Breathing Watercolours

Conscious breathing became an important element in my new life, after I experienced a personal breakdown almost ten years ago. The awareness with my breath enables me to balance out the body and mind in all circumstances of life. A crucial example of this balance can be found in my work entitled Breathing Watercolours. Breath guides the strokes of the watercolour, to create a repetitive pattern of vertical blue stripes painted onto a white paper or wall. Each line represents one breath stroke. The colour is intense and vigorous at the beginning of each stroke, but gradually fades towards the bottom. Each stripe signifies the process of breathing in or breathing out in full awareness.

Initially, I painted Breathing Watercolours by myself – as part of my watercolour diary or as huge wall paintings. Then I began to ask visitors of my solo exhibitions to join in painting their breath on the museum’s walls too. In doing so, I try to encourage people to focus on their body and mind at the present moment and to enter into an inner dialogue. By painting their own breath onto a medium, they will not only be able to experience their breath, body and mind in the here and now, but also be part of a collectively experienced moment with their environment.