Philosophical theme
Do we disappear before we become alienated?
Is it the process itself, or is something within us pulled away before we are made foreign to ourselves?
Critical thinkers fill my mind with the idea that social media, hyper-accelerated culture and work life, efficiency metrics, and consumer culture make us vanish from our own minds — into something purely material, something concrete but not spiritual.
I understand the spiritual as rootedness. Rootedness is when the mind is at ease. Not something mystical, or whatever we might call it. Nor something purely rational, or whatever name we give to the other extreme. Simply a sense of ease — something we feel, but never quite see. Yes, we may perceive a smile or a discomfort. But I — or any person — can feel completely at ease while still being perceived by others as “skeptical,” “withdrawn,” or “sad,” even though I am content. Like when I’m thinking.
And really, I feel most alienated from myself when the world around me — and I myself — begin to doubt thinking as something healthy.
Perhaps this is the beginning of my project. A point of departure that has taken root in me, in my consciousness.
And I want to share the meaning and ideas that come with it.
Why? Because I sense a contemporary tendency to devalue thinking — albeit unconsciously. Like when we associate thinking with logic and reason, as if these were the opposites of feelings and empathy. That’s awful.
I’ll try to describe what I mean. But I do so through philosophical themes I explore in my art.
Here, we’re dealing with the theme of alienation and belonging — a polarity I’ve reflected on through the processes behind Barely, Departure, Another Day, How to Be, The Meaning of Concept as well as in my Philosophical Poetry writings.
In Barely, the piece asks: What helps root the mind, so that calmness settles steadily and gently over us?
The “answer” is not the goal — the goal is the ability to remain with the question.
That idea was born on a dull bench in an altruistic place outside of Copenhagen. It demanded its beer, and time for contemplation.
Later that same year (2023) came Departure — part of the Life at Ease series — asking: Where do we go when rootlessness takes hold of us?
The overwhelming experience of being in the question — and sometimes trying to answer it — led to the work Another Day.
Taking a stance would have to wait for another day. Or perhaps it was consciousness that had to be postponed.
At that point, I went to the Kanalbodega in Christianshavn, Cph🇩🇰, where my sister worked at the time.
There, I interpreted, listened, and took notes on ideas and dialogues that gave me the feeling that many of us are waiting for another day, while we pass time, enjoy ourselves, or create memories in a warm bodega.
Whether we feel alienation or belonging probably depends on the way we are in life — which led to How to Be.
A way that’s best characterized by pulling thoughts away from the question, as we try to ‘just’ be.
All of it echoes the ongoing wonder in The Meaning of Concept — a work that seeks to engage with the most fundamental: the concepts we follow.
For me, belonging is found through my own concept: Philosophical Poetry.
Thank you for reading along 🌿
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