In my last post Capturing Breath Bubbles,I wrote about a workshop with Jayne Wilton at the „Catch your breath“ exhibition. Part of the workshop was a global engagement art project by Jeppe Hein, called Breathe with me.
The participants and browsing visitors were invited to paint one brushstroke with an exhale on a large paper canvas. One after another, the visitors took the brush from the ink pot and painted a line down the paper.
Starting out with doing “Breathing Watercolours” for himself, Jeepe Hein in time began to extend his practice into a global engagement art project. Breathe with me has taken place in public spaces, galleries, schools and even at the UN headquarters in September 2019. If you want to organise your own Breathe with me event, there is a manual for downloading on the website.
“Life begins with an inhale and ends with an exhale.
In-between we all breathe and live different lives.
And yet, each breath keeps us together, connected, sharing the same air.” says Jeppe Hein.
With the intention to connect, running the brush down the paper felt strangely powerful, seeing my brush stroke next to the others, in the knowledge that many other people are participating in this project, too, with their brushstrokes and their breaths.