A Meditation on Healing and Gratitude
During the springtime in India a popular Hindu festival, Holi, is celebrated where participants throw colored powder into the air and upon each other. The colored powders made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other herbs have a medicinal significance and are prescribed by Ayurvedic doctors for the viral fever and colds common during the seasonal weather changes. Each color also has a particular spiritual quality in the Hindu tradition: Gold signifies gratitude, warmth, healing and is the color associated with the heart center and blue represents inner peace, vastness and aspiration for the Divine. This art piece was created with this theme in mind. Kristin Hansen, having successfully gone through treatment for cancer, meditated on these qualities while her father and stepmom poured the glitter on her head. The art, a performance piece, was digitally photographed by Papaha and prints can be reproduced. All profits from this artwork are donated to the San Diego Children’s Hospital. The original show raised over $4500.
