Identity

According to the work of Doctor Deepak Chopra, in Quantum Healing, the human body renews 98% of itself cell by cell every year. We are in a ever flowing state of change, like a river that is never still, always ebbing and flowing, shifting and reflecting, in our case, reflecting our thoughts physically. This manifestation of thought into phsysical form is perhaps western medicines biggest oversight, indeed, The mind/body connection long appreciated in the east, seems to have passed the pharmaceutical west by. How does this relate to identity? Well the renewal and flux of our physical bodies, raises questions about our understanding of visual identity. Are we the person we see in the bathroom mirror, and will we be that same person tomorrow? Although our appearance seems to stay fixed, all but for the process fo ageing, that hides the microscopic flow of the river beneath. We look ourselves in the eye, yet fail to see that we perceive with new equipment, trained to act as we have come to expect, moulded to our reality, a reality that is as real as heaven and hell. We are what we believe. Our physical manifestation is a result of our thought processes. After all doesn't someone who is depressed look outwardly very different from the perpetually happy person across the road. Posture, breathing, facial expression are visible signs of this, but what's going on underneath all of that? What is our physical identity? simply a reflection of our current state of mind?

We stand on the brink of a new dawn of human understanding, one that has been long predicted by portrait painters the world over, who toil hour after hour constructing an expternal appearance from inner conflict. We build from the inside out, yet fail to see the strong correlation between mind and body. Perhaps I'm becoming increasingly disenchanted with the out-dated and frankly unhelpful beliefs of society, perhaps the pictures that i paint how been created and destroyed in my mind a thousand times over before they ever make onto canvas or screen. I believe it's time to paint perfection rather than pain.