How will we evolve?

Hi, It's Lisa-Marie Sanders! I'm very excited about this new series. Evolution is my personal theme for our seventh cycle “A New World”.

ev·o·lu·tion /ˌevəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/ noun

1. the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.

2. a process of change in a certain direction: unfolding

3. the process of working out or developing

I chose these definitions for evolution from more than ten others on the internet. I enjoy thinking about the process of “working out or developing”. I also think “unfolding” is an important concept. Working out implies effort while unfolding implies a natural, effortless evolution. They appear contradictory and yet they coexist as definitions of the same word.

The pandemic has forced us to evolve in many ways. Beyond the public health, medical, technological and social developments, are more intense personal changes. Beyond what has happened, what will happen? What changes will each of us make to adapt to this new world? How will that be reflected in our lives? Do we have to work hard to make it happen or merely flow with this new reality?

Typically, I think of evolution as gradual modification. Adaptation and refinement of senses or skills we already possess. Or even the acquisition of new skills. But what about the things we choose to abandon? The behaviors we leave behind will be just as important as those we acquire.

I’d like to explore the tensions inherent in the concept of evolution: between effort and flow, between expansion and reduction. These concepts are also relevant to my artistic development: what you omit can be just as powerful as what you include. I want to examine and enhance these choices in my work.

Evolution is my theme, my process and my goal.