Enlightenment in the spiritual sense can be so described: „Everyday consciousness has been transcended, giving way to a permanent and special insight into a holistic reality.” Or: „Self-awareness is erased and replaced by a consciousness of unity". As artists, we frequently experience two phenomena in our work. For one, we experience art as a meditative process, as moments of self-transcendence, and this, in turn, makes us experience meditation in a religious and spiritual context as familiar terrain.

For another, figuratively speaking, one or another light goes off and, over again, when we think of art in the social environment of our Frankfurt reality based on these experiences, we wish for more loving kindness, and more community spirit.

We are interested in Metta, the teaching of Loving Kindness, and want to learn more about the mantras that evoke this state. But not only that, we want to illuminate Frankfurt with such a mantra and thus circulate mantras throughout the city. We will be repeating this action several times during the Luminale at different times. Elke Hessel from Tibethaus Frankfurt will join us to speak about the mantras’ cultural and historical background. A further cooperation with the Sternwarte/Physikalischer Verein (observatory/physical association) will enrich our project, in which we will be introduced to the phenomenon of darkness in a lecture by Volker Heinrich.