The Weight of Wholeness Is No Trifling Matter
2026
Cyanotype on silk, canvas, ceramic, glass candle holders; cyanotype solution in holy water vessel; cyanotype on book cover; found table; synthetic braiding hair; wax, water, salt, branches
(long post im so sorry but also deal with it)
âAre you sure, sweetheart, that you want to be well?⊠Just soâs youâre sure, sweetheart, and ready to be healed, cause wholeness is no trifling matter. A lot of weight when youâre well.â
In my journey to be a more understanding individual, understanding of myself and understanding of the world around me, I found Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara.
This book challenges the structure of linear storytelling through shifts in timeline and perspective to show that achieving wholeness is by no means a linear process, and when we neglect ourselves the opportunity to embrace this process, our community notices. I compare digesting this book to laying on the ground hearing a lengthy jazz improvisation track with occasional shouts or prose in the left or right headphone. Through ancestral healing, community organizing, art, music, epiphanies, and symphonies of weathered stories, this piece came to be.
One figure is trying to save the other, her fractured self, from a life ending decision so they can rest in front of an altar of salt and become whole.
Itâs not meant to be a self portrait, but I believe it shows my dedication to trying to become the best version of myself, and realizing she may not be the happiest. But life isnât about being as happy as I can be, that's not being "whole". Recognizing what the brain thinks is safe, isnât always whatâs the safest. Learning to embrace an unfamiliar heaven over a familiar hell helps me stay true to my values and live earnestly and wholly. Through this, learning, devotion, creation and love are my priorities. And I hope to engage with those with all of you as we go through cycles of saving ourselves and each other.
âYou never really know a person until you've eaten salt togetherâ.Â
Salt is known to have healing properties. With that, you never know a person until you've healed together.
til 4/5 at Isolde
pics:
@leib.jonathan