Emptiness as Form: A Mycelial Mandala
Publication information:
Abstract
Artist Talk: This project explores the connections between Mahāyāna Buddhist conceptions of dependent origination (Sanskrit: pratītyasamutpāda), impermanence (anitya), interconnectedness, or “interbeing” (per Thich Nhat Hanh), and my own experience with conveying the Tibetan Buddhist concept of emptiness (śūnyatā) via the artistic creation and care of living mandalas comprised of mycelium. The art piece accompanying my paper will be grown using mushroom spores. My paper explores themes and questions surrounding ecological spiritual art, contemporary and innovative mandalas, indigeneity and cultural appropriation, and interconnective communication within the mandalas of landscape.
Presenter Biography
Lily Brown, from Boone, North Carolina, is a third year undergraduate student at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She is double majoring in environmental studies and sustainable food systems with a minor in religious studies.