Swaths of deep blue fabric—dyed, bleached, and embedded with words and symbols by Shinique Smith—surround and envelop the artist (Baltimore, MD, b. 1971) during Breathing Room: Bound and Loose. For the meditative performance, Smith rhythmically inhales and exhales while wrapping herself in the indigo fabric. On the significance of indigo, she explains: “With roots in Ancient Peru, India, Japan and Africa, Indigo was once used as currency and was also a significant cash crop alongside cotton and tobacco during the slave trade. Indigo was considered in many cultures to represent the path to the infinite and bring one closer to the sky, a color and history that continues to inspire.”
Once the artist is bound beyond movement, Smith describes that she enters “a deep meditative state with the desire to release and transform a shared cultural experience of toil and bondage into a freed creative power for all who witness and participate as I am unraveled, and my bindings are loosened.” Smith seeks to expand her inner voice and commune with her ancestors through these actions and invites audience members to breathe in rhythm with her to create a shared tapestry of empowering sound.
