PASS IT FORWARD I GALLERI UNDERWAERK

DET HANDLER OM FODBOLD OG SOCIALT ENGAGEMENT

Hvordan kan det være, at to politimænd, Christianias dame fodboldhold, en tømrer, hip hop bandet Suspekt, en buschauffør, en radiovært, en mekaniker, en kok, en skraldemand, en lufthavns portør, en pensioneret social pædagog, en 16 årig sangerinde, en lastbilchauffør, en kvindelig sømand med mange, mange flere, alle har valgt at rive fem uger ud af kalenderen for, den 29. oktober at køre fra København til Gambia i ældgamle, skramlede autocampere fra 70’erne?

Fælles for samtlige er, at de kender et usædvanligt menneske, Jack Kelefa Sanneh, der med denne rejse forløser en mangeårig drøm, som går ud på at aflevere over seks tons brugt fodboldudstyr til fattige børn i Gambia, som det, gennem de sidste syv år, stort set egenhændigt, er lykkedes ham at indsamle her i DK. Som sportschef for Christianias ambitiøse fodboldhold, CSC, hvis mål (ikke uden humor) er at komme i Superligaen, har det været oplagt for Jack, at koncentrere sig om at indsamle netop fodboldudstyr. Han har på en rejse tilbage til sine rødder i Gambia, med egne øjne oplevet, hvor stor lykke næsten ingenting kan gøre, hvilket har været hans simple incitament til kæmpe for at realisere projektet.

Rejsen indebærer deltagelse i Amsterdam Dakar Challenge, et benhårdt race (alternativ til det berømte race Paris/Dakar), hvis sigte er at sætte fokus på humanitære projekter. En betingelse for deltagelse er, at det køretøj man befordrer sig i, ikke må overstige en værdi af 1000 euro, hvilket bliver en seriøs udfordring da rejsen blandt andet går gennem lande som Marokko, Mauretanien, Vestsahara og Senegal.

Ved vejs ende vil Jack og hans hold aflevere både udstyr og biler, men før de atter rejser tomhændede hjem, skal de selvfølgelig spille et brag af en fodboldturnering sammen med børnene nede i Gambia. Jacks Pass It Forward tanke er enkel, hvilket har betydet opbakning og støtte mange steder fra, ikke mindst fra Christian Stadil fra Hummel, men der vil blive afholdt en stor støttefest i oktober, hvor det endnu vil være muligt at velsigne turen på forskellig vis. Det handler om fodbold og socialt engagement! Jack stiller hellere end gerne op til interview.

Mange hilsner fra Maj Bovin – Pass It Forward

Active meditation - The Banyan

By cleaning the trash that I find, I gain to work myself into state which I call “ Active Meditation”.
It is from this state I draw the source of my inspiration. The trivial and rhythm from changing trash into material, while in concentrated observation, gives me what I couldn't find in the more traditional and passive meditation.

I am convinced that Active Meditation is more fit to reveal the deeper levels of the western mind. Meditation is not new to the European tradition, only it was called contemplation in earlier periods of our history. Garden work was not seldom used in the means to reach a mindfulness of contemplation.

First it is silent; Then there is creation!

Active meditation also deals with the narcissistic side of self development by interacting with the physical layer of life. It is here the problems are solved and here the treasures of the mind becomes actual intelligence.
An example taken from my concern on environmental issues is the problem of Private transportation.
In mind we are aware that the Co2 made from our cars is causing serious damage on the planet. To transform this awareness into actual intelligence we would have to stop the very car we are driving in.

In this sense we know many things about life, in our minds, stultified by our civilisation and generations past, now; if do not take the consequences of this knowledge, we will not reach a higher intelligence than the dinosaurs.
Active Meditation is dealing with this double, reacting on the problems of modern life, gathering the different layers of human existence into one process and movement.

Also, by doing actual work, by cleaning the materials, I gain a great respect and understanding of the material. It is one of life's funny jokes that the trash is better than what I can buy.

Christian Noah Møller

Drager er dragende

I forbindelse med vores udstilling i UNDERWAERK har vi haft mulighed for at sammenligne motiver og farvevalg, i de mange børne-tegninger og malerier der er udstillet. En af ideerne bag udstillingen er netop dette, at se hvilke motiver børnene skaber, og hvilke farver de vælger, når de vælger frit.

En overraskelse for os er det, at dragen er det mest gennemgående motiv i udstillingen. I den forbindelse har jeg læst lidt på myten om dragen, og det viser sig, at der i myten ligger en ide om at blive "ven" med sine drifter. 

Forskere mener endvidere, at man i sproget kan finde et direkte link imellem slange og drage.
En gammel Myte går på, som beskrevet af C.G. Jung i "Mennesket og dets symboler", at der under Toledo i Spanien løber en underjordisk flod. I denne flod bor en slange. Du kan ikke bekæmpe slangen, for så dør du, men bliver du ven med den, vil den vise dig skatten under handels-fæstningen. Skatten er et sværd, der giver dig magt over Toledo, eller sagt mere direkte, magt over dine egne drifter. 

Myten om Dragen/Slangen går helt tilbage til selve starten på civilisation.

"Jeg kan let se hvordan en slange kan blive til en drage. Dragerne bor i oppe skyerne, lyn kommer ud af munden på dem og de har en hale som ender i en slags fiskehale. Slanger er kendt for at bo ved klipper og dybt vand." fortæller arkæolog Sheila Coulson.

Hun har fundet eksempler på mytiske drager i Afrika, helt tilbage til 70.000 år før Kristi fødsel. 

I norden har vi også bearbejdet myten i tusindvis af år.

»...man har fundet helleristninger af store slangelignende figurer fra så tidlig som bronzealderen,« fortæller Torfinn Ørmen.

Han er zoolog ved Universitetet i Oslo, og har skrevet den norske bog 'Drager: Mellem myte og virkelighed'.

Men eftersom så mange kulturer har et forhold til det gamle skællede fabeldyr, må ideen om det være opstået længe før og måske fra en fælles ur-kilde. 

Det er meget spændende, at det er dette motiv, der er flest af i de 300 tegninger og malerier vi nu har kunnet sammenligne. Det har givet mere blod på tanden til opnå målet med de 1000 tegninger.

Kan du se det - Kan du høre det?

Her er en artikel, som på sin vis beskriver hvorfor, vi har valgt at starte med en børne udstilling...

Teksten taler for sig selv!

Email text contributed by Bill B., Dec. 17, 2008:

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Kærlig Hilsen UNDERWAERK