The Lotus Path: Workshops Connect Participants To Their “higher Self”
The Lotus Path is a work of art by British artist Alex Chinneck and it is located within the New Art Centre in London. In order to get to the artwork, visitors must pass through a small chapel called The Sanctuary before reaching The Lotus Path. "The Lotus Path is an immersive environment designed as an accessible spiritual journey," according to their website.
One of the things that make this particular piece so special are those who have been involved with its creation and how they were able to participate. "We made it all one-to-one (online)" notes Chinneck, "[To] give more opportunities for people who might not be able to travel physically. I think we were more inclusive with this project than any other I’ve worked on in the past. We got nearly 3,500 different participants working on the artwork".
During the work of creating The Lotus Path, Chinneck and his team would sometimes share a lot of secrets about themselves to each other. "During the process we shared everything, our innermost secrets. And then revealed them to each other", said Chinneck. "It was perfect casting in some ways because they didn’t know quite what they were signing up for. And yet, it was really good fun".
"The Lotus Path" is a groundbreaking piece that has since attracted a lot of attention. In fact, it's even on The Louvre Museum's list from one of their exhibitions, "The Art of the Enlightenment". The work of art is also known to be recommended by some people as an example to follow for those who would like to see the importance having a vision for something and working on it until completion. And in order for Chinneck to be able to do this, he had decided to give away all his properties he owned back then.
The only thing that Chinneck retained from this experience was his vision for what he wants to make in the future. "I’ve had a few ideas over the years of what I want to do and this was my favorite idea," he said.
The Sanctuary is where the participants first enter the Lotus Path before walking inside it. This area is known for being very dimly lit, which makes you feel like you're in a space of total darkness. This is done so that the participants could become more relaxed so that they could successfully connect with their higher selves through meditation, which is what Chinneck wanted to achieve in this work of art.
One is not required to meditate in order to walk through The Lotus Path but according to Chinneck, he encourages the participants to do so so that they could easily connect with their higher selves and their innermost feelings. After getting out of The Sanctuary, the person will have already been given a meditation and be given time for reflection. "I’ve always been curious about what it would feel like to meditate in an art gallery. What happens when you’re there?" he said. "The space is used for connection."
The Lotus Path has a length of 420 feet and its width varies from 36 inches to 65 inches according to Chinneck's website. In fact, this was the first ever artwork that has been mapped in this way. It is lined with over 6500 Cultus emblems. "The Cultus emblems are found at all points along the path; at set intervals and at specific locations chosen by the participant after completion of a meditation," according to Chinneck's website.
This is also where participants will be given time for reflection and to connect with their higher selves after having reached the end of The Sanctuary. This exhibits an area where Chinneck wanted to display both positive and negative emotions as shown by some of its works such as "Through The Darkness".
"Through The Darkness", according to Chinneck, is a room filled with smaller rooms with candles inside. What makes this work of art special is that it is designed to imitate the feeling of limbo as it displays negative feelings such as sadness, pain and despair in a positive light. As for Chinneck's personal inspiration for this particular artwork, he said that he has been inspired by William Blake's "Songs of Innocence" in which innocence is often depicted symbolically as a sort of enlightenment.
The reason why Chinneck decided to show these positive and negative emotions together within one work of art was so that the participant would not associate the formerly with themselves; instead, they would just feel them in a different way. "I wanted to make sure people felt something different or altered as they walked around", he said. In fact, Chinneck's purpose for making this work of art was to help people realize that feeling happy about the negative things in their lives can somehow be more powerful than just feeling sad about them.
The lotus flower is a significant symbol in many religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. This is because it is known for being resilient even when faced with challenging situations. This makes the lotus flower a symbol of hope, upliftment and liberation to those who know its meaning especially those who have gone through a very challenging time in their lives.
According to Chinneck, "The Lotus Path" is inspired by the lotus flower and its clean and bright feeling. He said that he was really in love with this particular flower ever since he was a child because it reminds him of not only his mother, but also his late grandmother. This was the reason why Chinneck decided to make something that represents hope and upliftment for all of those who enter The Lotus Path when it was first created.
More than what he wanted to achieve from this work of art, Chinneck is thankful for all of those who supported him in some way during the creation of this piece. "I’m immensely grateful to everyone who participated in The Lotus Path project," said Chinneck. "I don’t think it would have happened without that support".
"The Lotus Path" has gotten positive feedbacks from many people. "It was the most important piece of work I’ve ever made. The experience was both moving and inspiring," said Chinneck. Some of the participants also shared some thoughts to their experience with this artwork such as a man named Mark, who said that after meditating inside The Sanctuary, he just felt so at peace with himself and his surroundings.
"The Lotus Path is an incredible place to be," he said as he shared his thoughts on this work of art. "It’s somewhere you can go to rest your mind and enjoy the sounds that surround you.
Conclusion
"The Lotus Path" has shown how Chinneck grew up in the world of art since he was a child. Therefore, it is not surprising that he became an accomplished artist who graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2003.
It is also expected that Chinneck will be able to continue on creating artworks like this one as he continues to grow and create more things that can inspire others to do the same.