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— Joan Miró
From the moment we take our first breath, we’re moving.
Our mouths scream out, our toes wriggle, our chests rise and deflate. These movements continue until we draw our last breath, but they’re not our only movements. Our minds are at constant work too. A smile or a sense of fear are induced when our brain releases molecules or hormones. Movement in our bodies is driven by these internal flows, with some of us pursuing exhilaration in adventure, and others peace and relaxation in stillness.
But not all movement is freedom to move, feel or believe. Our fellow humans can curtail our movements through rules, policies, threats and punishment. When children ‘misbehave’, juveniles ‘intimidate’, migrants ‘swarm’ or sexual minorities ‘recruit’, we respond by locking doors, building prisons, erecting walls and imposing fines, detention or death sentences.
Fear of the unknown or perceived external threats can also mean restricted movement in cyberspace, especially for children, with firewalls uncritically serving to Keep - Children - Out.
But nature’s movements do not follow human-imposed restrictions. Accepting that humans, like other species, move in many ways and for many reasons, be it instinct, necessity or choice, is something many of us have a hard time accepting. Climate change is nature in movement, in transition, in decay -- a change that will force over 200 million people to move to safer lands, but tell that to the governments which have not yet recognised climate migration in human rights law.
In response to this and other issues, it seems that most reactions, ideas and policies are seeking to prevent change; to prevent movement. But what if we instead stepped into a space where we embrace movement of body, emotion and mind?
This movement is not achieved by tightening borders, imposing more rules or clinging to our views; it’s reached when we let go, and swim in the direction of the current.
We invite you along on our journey through these questions and ideas from different and constantly shifting perspectives through our third edition of our magazine, What Lies Beneath on the theme of Movement.
We have also prepared a musical soundtrack to accompany you on your journey. You can download the magazine in pdf format, explore it digitally, or get in touch to claim a hard copy.
We hope you enjoy the ride.
Words, Veronica Yates and animation, Miriam Sugranyes
Visit our Drawing Room to discover what inspired us in putting together this edition. Read our previous editions on Silence and Power here.
“Sometimes I think that the artist is like a child who when he blows out a candle creates a hurricane, who when he cries causes a flood or who when he laughs illuminates this apparently incomprehensible world that adults agree to hide.” — Jaume Plensa
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” — Hannah Arendt
