Module 2

Responding to the Body: Restricting the Body

VIII of Swords

Upright: Self-Imposed Restriction, Imprisonment, Self-Victimhood, Negative Thoughts, Entrapment
Reversed: New Perspectives, Inner Critic, Self Acceptance, Freedom, Releasing Negative Thought
(Card meaning can be found here.)

This module included a variety of prompts that were in response to the body, however, the one that sparked my interest was “restricting the body.” In the prior module, I created a mould of a dagger that represented a sword from the suit of the same namesake. This suit represents air, and as such I cast the object in a clear epoxy resin. While not fully transparent, the translucence gave the impression of something that was not quite there. Furthermore, the suit of swords is associated with intellect, ideas, communication, and often strife, so it felt appropriate that something so intangible should have a physical impact on the space. Rather than crafting a wearable object to restrict the body, I achieved this by creating an obstruction in the space, which by extension restricted the body’s ability to interact with/travel through it.

I achieved this by recreating the card VIII of Swords, which depicts a woman entrapped by 8 swords around her. Similar to this, I hung 8 epoxy swords from the ceiling, these blades making the space they occupy a hazard, as such restricting the body from entering what would have been an unoccupied space. An interesting point is that a core feature of the VIII of Swords is that though the woman is entrapped, her prison would be easily escaped if she were to slip from her loose bonds, remove her blindfold and observe it clearly. Similarly, the installation may imply malice through the presence of these weapons, however, its harm is easily avoided. The installation effectively reflects the message of limitation and negative thoughts within the Tarot card it represents.