An art project by Isabel León
Niyama Saucha is a Sanskrit term that means cleansing and purification.
Inspired by this beautiful concept I give life to this artistic project in which I reflect on three essential aspects of the human condition:
— The professional
— The personal
— And the social
At the time of carrying it out I have opted for an ironic and absurd vision, avoiding the excess of solemnity and addressing concepts as disparate as yoga and household cleaning.
The underlying idea here is my certainty that the most seemingly trivial activities —such as cleaning the house, doing the washing machine or making food— are precisely the ones that equate and connect us as human beings.
Undoubtedly, one of the main aspects that characterize my work is the indissoluble union between art and life, and in Niyama Saucha this dialectic is more than evident.
The starting point of this project is the need to reflect on my own case, that of a woman artist who has been practicing yoga for more than twenty years and who has grown up immersed in a macho culture.
But this introspection does not arise from complaint or pamphlet, but I carry it out from acceptance, self-criticism and humor.
In the same way, with Niyama Saucha I intend to honor the spiritual, physical and mental discipline of yoga in my daily life. And always, moved by respect and gratitude.
The Niyama Saucha project comes to life through performance and is composed of five essential elements:
In this video piece I show the assembly of five different actions in which I practice yoga with the body wrapped in different cleaning elements.
Specifically, the five elements I use in each session are the following:
— Black yoga clothes
— Yellow cleaning cloths
— Blue scouring pads with sponge
— Green scouring pads
— Aluminum scouring pads
In these images I recreate some of the yoga postures (asanas) of the so-called Warriors group with the body wrapped by the same cleaning elements of the video action.
Each of these photographs is titled with the name of the asana and the cleansing material used. For example: Virabhadrasana II with green scourer.
In these sculptural pieces I play with the volumes and I use the same cleaning materials used in the video action.
Some of these materials are damaged after the recording and this transformation in their state is essential to give meaning to the pieces.
In the cases in which Niyama Saucha is shown to the public, I complete the experience with the participation of a yoga teacher who teaches classes in the room itself.
With these sessions I intend to delve into the absurdity and irony that characterize the project, and continue playing with the dialectic between art and life.
The Everyday Anthology is a photographic archive in which I show people who do yoga on a regular basis performing an asana and accompanied by a cleaning element (a broom, a cloth, etc.).
This archive is one of the essential pieces of the Niyama Saucha project and requires a separate chapter that you can see below.
The Everyday Anthology archive is a key element in the whole of Niyama Saucha.
It is not a simple compilation of photographs, but with it I delve into the roots of the project and extend the experience from the personal to the collective.
Specifically, each participant’s file is composed of two elements:
1. A photograph in which he/she appears practicing yoga with a cleaning element.
2. Information about their daily life in relation to work, yoga and household chores.
The Everyday Anthology is open to everyone who wants to participate and if you are one of them, you can do it in the following link:
I am Isabel León; visual artist, performer and teacher.
I conceive artistic practice as an act closely linked to life, and therefore, my work is always connected to my deepest thoughts and emotions.
I am interested in the seemingly small or trivial, the game and the absurd. My work emerges from the here and now, and in it I always leave room for intuition.
With Niyama Saucha I continue on my vital and professional journey, making visible what seems irrelevant —and it is not—, and giving permanence to the everyday.
After all, in art and in life, everything is relative.
Niyama Saucha is a Sanskrit term meaning cleansing and purification.
Inspired by this concept I give life to this artistic project in which I reflect on the professional, personal and social aspects of the human condition.
Niyama Saucha comes to life through performance and is composed of five essential elements: a video action, photographs, sculptures, live actions and the file Everyday Anthology.
This Everyday Anthology is open to everyone who wants to participate and if you are one of them, you can do it in the following link.
Thank you!
