thatcarpet

studio for more-than-human making

toolbox of a plastic shaman

The toolbox of a plastic shaman is the result of an ongoing search
to foster deeper creative relationships
among the human and more-than-human members of thatcarpet studio.

The term plastic shaman has been used by first nation activists
to disclose individuals who illegitimately pass themselves off
as healers, shamans, or spiritual leaders without a genuine connection
to the cultures and traditions they draw from.

In the context of this project the term alludes to the heartfelt desire
of a postmodern subject
to rediscover a sense of relationality
from within a culture that has decided to cut itself off
and to perpetually erase its own ancestral traditions as well as those of other peoples.

Oscillating between naivité and sincerity, hopefulness and desperation,
the toolbox of a plastic shaman marks the attempt to reinvent a relational spirituality
within a vacuum of superficiality.

A varnished bone, a plastic flower,
and a glassex spray bottle filled with “sacred” water
induce the irony of this ultimately flawed
and yet so deeply human craving for connection.

At the same time there is a hopeful dimension
to the toolbox of a plastic shaman.
Their conscious engagement with the artificiality of the modern world
by assembling it into the core of their practices
might mark a starting point of coming to terms
with the contradictions of modern practices of decontextualization and erasure
and initiate a process of healing.

thatcarpet
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