On November 8, light artist Lia Chavez celebrated the release of her limited-edition haute botanical meditation oil, Mirrormind, with an otherworldly performance in Brookhaven Hamlet, New York under an extraordinary Blood Moon eclipse. Guests participated in a special anointing ritual, symbolizing our mystical and holistic relationship with nature and the cosmos. In an exclusive collaboration between The Something Machine and Chavez’s luxury house, Hildegaard, Mirrormind invokes the sanctuary of the seashore, connecting its notable power for healing and contemplation to the starry skies above us and grounded mother nature below us.
In her vibrant performance, Chavez drew upon “Neoplatonism,” a philosophical school of thought stemming from the Roman Empire and Plato in which there is a divine unity between the cosmos and the human spirit. The artist fiercely expressed this relationship in sweeping movements of ritual and reflection, creatively inspired by flowing water and streams of consciousness. Known for her remarkable multifaceted performances, Chavez’s thought-provoking experiences have been exhibited at La Biennale di Venezia and the Istanbul Biennial.
Courtesy of the artist, Hildegaard, and The Something Machine.
“The performance this morning was incredibly beautiful, owing to the perfect weather, the clarity in the sky, and, of course, the radiant cosmos,” said Chavez following the event. “This durational performance involved standing waist deep in cold water for three hours while spinning fire in a circle. It was quite the visceral clash and communion of the elements, but also very contemplative. The action of creating a circle in space with fire exists on such a potent archetypal level, I couldn’t help, but feel connected to what Dante described as ‘the love that moves the sun and all the stars.’ It was incredibly cold and challenging, mentally as well, but I would do it again in a heartbeat just to experience the moon in all of her majesty. My mentor, Janine Antoni, once said that performance art is a way of gifting yourself extraordinary experiences, and this morning’s performance was certainly that.”
Lia Chavez, “Mirrormind,” 2022, still photograph from live durational performance with fire in the Great South Bay; © Lia Chavez, courtesy of the artist and The Something Machine gallery, Bellport, New York.
Lia Chavez, “Mirrormind,” 2022, still photograph from live durational performance with fire in the Great South Bay; © Lia Chavez, courtesy of the artist and The Something Machine gallery, Bellport, New York.
Chavez distilled this very energy and intention into Mirrormind for all to experience. The Hildegaard meditation oil is based upon age-old anointing rituals which sought to reconnect humans with the cosmos. “This contemplative ritual belongs to Hildegaard’s broader project of anointing the culture for the new regenerative age which acknowledges a living, fully animate cosmos pervaded by spiritual intelligence, beauty, and structural perfection,” said the artist. The unique elixir uses hand-harvested sea kelp from the shores of the performance site. Natural medicinal ingredients such as heirloom lotus flower, sage, and passionflower were grown by Chavez at Mama Farm. Each individual bottle is a 220-hour work of art.
In a meaningful presentation of 108 specially numbered and engraved bottles (the distance between the earth and sun is 108 times the diameter of the sun, and the distance between the earth and moon is 108 times the diameter of the moon), the artist’s creation is meant to inspire a cherishing of and mediation on the mystery and the beauty of life itself. In an ode to the human body’s direct response to cosmic light, and Chavez’s study of neuroscientific technology and the effect of stroboscopic light to awaken the brain, Mirrormind’s glowing plant oils elicit enlightenment for mind, body, and soul alike.
Lia Chavez, “Mirrormind,” 2022, still photograph from live durational performance with fire in the Great South Bay; © Lia Chavez, courtesy of the artist and The Something Machine gallery, Bellport, New York.
Lia Chavez, “Mirrormind,” 2022, still photograph from live durational performance with fire in the Great South Bay; © Lia Chavez, courtesy of the artist and The Something Machine gallery, Bellport, New York.
