Straw dogs

中文

I am interested in distance, in what separates people and in what connects them. How people are different from each other and how they are the same. When I look at another person, am I looking at a mirror image of myself?

When we are close to each other, all we see is difference. The further away we are, the smaller the differences become and the more similarities appear. Once we look at someone from a great distance, bridging a vast space or a long period of time, it becomes clear that we are all subject to forces beyond our control.

The Daodejing says: “Heaven and Earth are heartless, they treat all living things like straw dogs.” During a ceremony, a dog made from straw comes alive. Once the ceremony is over, it goes back to being nothing but straw. In this way, each of us is exactly the same.