39,390 breaths between June 13, 2011 and March 8, 2012
graphite on rice paper
8 x 8 inches
Col. Davis Art Museum, Wellesley College
The Tonglen series are durational drawings where I record my own breaths to capture time. The titles of the drawings are the number of breaths followed by the dates between which they are recorded. I create the drawings in marathon sessions lasting up to 12 hours. Tonglen mediation is a Buddhist practice of compassion in which one breathes in others' pain, and breathes out relief from that pain. The Tonglen drawings capture the residue left behind by each breath.