1000 ways of being

September 26, 2013 Jodi Sharp

Firefly- Photo by Camille Berube

The Autumn of Love, Pg 68

I want to die from longing, and never

live in boredom. I want there to be,

in the depth of my soul,

a hunger for love and beauty.

As I observe mankind, I see

that those who are satisfied are the most

wretched, and the most attached to matter.

I have also heard the sighs of those

who are full of desire and longing

and have found in them a gentleness

sweeter than the sweetest melody.

-Khalil Gibran

Love Letters in the Sand

Souvenir Press 2005

There is one thing that has always remained a constant in my practice, and that is the use of my own body. I think that because of growing up in what, for me, was an oppressive space, I am very cautious about imposing my own world views on top of others. Because of this I use my own body, with the belief that, by changing myself, I can form a link in a chain that will possibly change others. In the History of Sexuality, Foucault talks about the fact that every human being is involved in the creation of the cultural system, and that means every individual has the capacity to change it. I love his quote that says;

"[There is] The omnipresence of power: not because it has the privilege of consolidating everything under its invincible unity, but because it is produced from one moment to the next, at every point, or rather in every relation from one point to another. Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere."

Harvest- Photo by Aaron Ball, Face paint by Paul Zulauf

With this idea in mind, I do believe that if I change how my body looks, acts and relates to a space, I have the capacity to change my environment day by day. This is one of the major reasons that I find costuming so important. The ability to change how I look not only communicates on my outside how I feel on the inside, but also allows for me physically change my environment.

I cannot count the amount of people I have met, the amount of art I have added to spaces, and the amount of conversations I've had about my lifestyle, just because I have been dressed up.

So here are some of my costumes from this festival season. I did not manage to document them all, and I will try my best to list all the photographers, although I've forgotten some. The majority of what I wear I make myself, with found add ons as well as sometimes some lovely things made by friends. Here ya go!