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The Body and Ex-istence in a Cave of Perception

When the Pandemic was accelerating this spring I have stayed in Spain. The situation in Spain was harder and harder and I was one of few foreigners (especially Asians) living in the village. In the face of the virus, even though the history of our lives is different, we were all just humans with the same body in the same crisis. On the other hand, the distinction between myself and others became clearer. After the outbreak of the Virus in Spain, the eye gaze of people who were looking at me as a stranger was shifted. However, nothing changed except for the intervention of external circumstances. People, spaces, and languages. that all forms and substances have not changed. It is only that my perception and others' have turned. We were afraid of the Virus and ignorance of each other, however, there was no entity in the fear.

 

During the time of self-isolation, I was obsessed with a fundamental instinct for survival. I spent most of my time eating, sleeping, and writing. My consciousness seemed to work to sustain life for my body. To bear life in this limited situation, we are now relying on the social system and using our perception as much as possible. This situation is an experience for the first time, but it resembles the life of human beings relying on social conventions and systems created by social and historical memories. None of the viruses invisible, nor the social conventions and systems that limit human consciousness and choice, are all beyond the control of individuals. A being that lives in a limited space and time. It refers to existence living in perception formed by social structure. Each human being lives in a space of their perception. Based on that perception, human beings define the object. I am also included in the object of recognition. I see myself from a social point of view. What can be done beyond that perception? To me, going beyond my perception means an attempt to return to my nature by forgetting the senses and thoughts habituated by society. I can say that this is ‘Existence' to me.

* Work developed during the Residency Program of AADK Spain

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