honorable mention
Kerry Gordon canadaPhoto © Kerry Gordon
title
Coyotes in the Bardo
In the multi-dimensional, non-ordinary realms of the in-between, there are no discrete lines between subject and object; between past, present and future. It is that utterly fluid reality most familiar to us in our dreams.
Engaging the in-between realms has been my ultimate concern as an artist; to penetrate the surface of things in order to recover that which has been lost – that we are not mere observers of the world but part of its flow. Like the shaman, it is the role of the artist to let go of the illusion of solid certainty and fully enter into the co-creative dance of being and becoming. And, like the shaman, the artist is sworn to service – to deliver this vision of continuous, creative arising into the ordinary world for the sake of all those who yearn to break free.
This photograph, “Coyotes in the Bardo”, expresses my aspirations as an artist. By entering the liminal realm of creative arising with my Coyote companions, we transformed the mundane act of taking a photograph into a sacred act of communion.
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entry description
Thirty-three years ago, I joined together with a group of men to form a men’s group. We called ourselves The Coyotes. The name was aptly chosen because Coyote is the trickster, both revered and reviled by many of the indigenous peoples of North America. Coyote is a seductive character – a rule breaker and troublemaker who lives outside the dimensional boundaries of ordinary time and space. As trickster, Coyote easily slips below the surface world of appearances to move freely between ordinary and non-ordinary reality. This is the liminal, in-between realm that is neither this nor that, never solid or certain and ever unfolding. It is this liminal space that is known to Buddhists as “The Bardo".In the multi-dimensional, non-ordinary realms of the in-between, there are no discrete lines between subject and object; between past, present and future. It is that utterly fluid reality most familiar to us in our dreams.
Engaging the in-between realms has been my ultimate concern as an artist; to penetrate the surface of things in order to recover that which has been lost – that we are not mere observers of the world but part of its flow. Like the shaman, it is the role of the artist to let go of the illusion of solid certainty and fully enter into the co-creative dance of being and becoming. And, like the shaman, the artist is sworn to service – to deliver this vision of continuous, creative arising into the ordinary world for the sake of all those who yearn to break free.
This photograph, “Coyotes in the Bardo”, expresses my aspirations as an artist. By entering the liminal realm of creative arising with my Coyote companions, we transformed the mundane act of taking a photograph into a sacred act of communion.
back to gallery