by Karina McKenzie
Image I. A digital manipulated picture that appears to be forest and trees on the bank of a body of water. The image is reflected on itself across the center vertical axis. The trees are in yellow while other aspects are in maroon, gray/black and other tones with a washed out effect.
Image II. A digital manipulated picture of a pair of folded hands in pink colours in front of the heart of a female torso. Smoke or energy floating out from the heart in the centre. A dreamlike surrounding of green colour.
Image III. A digital manipulated picture that appears to be forest and trees on the bank of a body of water. The image is reflected on itself across the center vertical axis. The trees are in yellow. Below the yellow trees, another element is reflected across itself on a lower horizontal axis. It appears to be more trees in blacks and greys and a middle portion of reds and maroons in computer rendered, almost fractal-like designs.
Image IV. A digital dreamy manipulated picture of a pair of folded hands in front of the heart of a female torso. Dandylion seeds and red organ-like shapes surround the heart. Some of the dandylion seeds are piercing the heart of the red torso. The image is made up of pinks, blues, reds and white.
Image V. A digital manipulated picture that appears to be forest and trees on the bank of a body of water. The image is reflected on itself across the center vertical axis. The trees are in blue and the water and island in the background appear pink. Below the blue trees, another element is reflected across itself on a lower horizontal axis. It appears to be more trees in blacks and greys and a middle portion of greens in computer rendered, almost fractal-like designs.
Audio read by author
Our minds are often set on creating happiness for ourselves, very often at the cost of others because we don’t recognise and acknowledge our interdependency and the deeper connection we have to each other. If we had more compassion with ourselves, each other, the planet, its animals and the whole, we would create more sustainability, because we would think with a mind set on the whole, and not just ourselves. If we had more compassion and a stronger notion of interdependence and connection, Compassion could become the thread that would weave ourselves with each other and the planet instead of the opposite where compassion is absent, and where we hereby tear our connection to eachother, the earth and it’s animals apart from ourselves. For me Compassion and Interdependence is therefore crucial ingredients to creating sustainability.
Audio version of biography
Karina Kristoffersen McKenzie makes digital art, prints and textiles based on teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. She lives by the sea in the southern part of Norway. Karina attended two schools of art in Norway. After this she earned a Master in Psychology from Sweden meanwhile earning the degree as Art Therapist from the Institute of Art Therapy in Denmark. She has exhibited in London, New York and Venice and has made the tapestry interiors of Spiregården yogasenter in Kristiansand, Norway. Two of her pictures have just been included in the book Be Kind: The little book filled with love, hope and kindness to lift your spirits from Tecassia publishing this summer. She is exhibiting her art at the ECOFeminism festival in London in November this year.