Work / Mixed Media
Ingobyi y'Ibitekerezo (2021)
English Translation: Womb of Thoughts
This is the Womb of Thoughts (Ingobyi y'Ibitekerezo). A space for one, a space for all. Here you find and interact with externalized thoughts, yours and those of everyone who came in before you. It is designed to provide a safe, armored environment, in the midst of chaotic real life environments, facilitating reflection and meditation, and encouraging individual expression. The floor is uncovered, and the roof semi-transparent; the idea was to mimic an open box and help the Womb of Thoughts adopt elements of every environment it's placed in. Inside you find some oil crayons, a Walkman player with some cassettes, and of course, a few thoughts.
The Womb of Thoughts was created in an attempt to communicate a feeling - that as much as we are social beings, we are also individuals, and it's important that we identify our individual selves within our communities and the roles we play in creating our shared reality. This, I believe, can be achieved through continuous conscious reflection and expression. Everything in the Womb of Thoughts is there to spark a thought. Or two.
Exhibition places
- Remera, Kisimenti.
- Mamba Club, Kimihurura.
- Goethe Institut, Kiyovu.
- Kabeza.
- Kibagabaga.
Afterthought
I want to discuss some of my biggest takeaways.
What people left in the Womb of Thoughts.
Some people interacted with the installation on my invitation, so these people knew me personally. Others were completely anonymous, people who just happened to bump into it. So some of these thoughts I know who they came from, and those are early thoughts from my friends, family, and fellow artists. When I started leaving the installation somewhere for weeks, however, I'd come back and find several thoughts from strangers; some were somewhat independent of earlier thoughts, and others were direct responses, but generally, everyone just did their thing. It was beautiful to see.
"This is a very colorful public toilet"
...someone thought. And I couldn't agree with them more. The owner of the thought is anonymous to me, which makes it even purer. I wonder if they were referring to the design and the placement of the installation; hopefully, they did not proceed to use it in a literal sense. Or maybe they really did grasp the essence of the installation. Because the idea was to create a sort of 'mental toilet.' This installation was birthed from the realization that most of us don't have an outlet for our intellectual consumption. If the body needs an outlet for physical things we consume like food and drinks, is it any different for immaterial things we consume? The Womb of Thoughts is supposed to be this outlet, or at least introduce the need for such an outlet to those who interact with it.