Dorian Lynde ~ Unbroken

The following piece is by artist, author, and activist Phil America, who we welcome into the TACO universe...

In early 2015 I met up with Dorian Lynde, a Canadian artist, to photograph her while working on her year-long photo series Peace By Piece. The series itself is more than just a collection of photos, it is a performance. It is a meditation. It is a reminder. It is a lesson on life. The photos show her work with “unbroken meditation”, a practice she took on over the one year's time in which she broke a piece of china(porcelain) every day and glued them back together.

The practice stands as a reminder that everything which can be broken can be put back together. They remind us that the cracks and scars of life can be beautiful. With each piece of china she gave them a title that reminded her of that day, and an important moment that happened within those 24 hours. Some were very literal- 'Careless'. Others were more abstract, with titles like 'Point of Impact' and 'I hear she...'

Of her 365 days of taking on this process many days were spent outside her native city of Toronto. For nearly 2 weeks she lived in Boyle Heights, somewhere near the end of her process, and I met her to document her daily practice every day she was there. There was no set rules, no specific place, only a rhythm she got into and a place of peace and mindfulness she found when in her work. She became the cup, the big pieces and the small shards while it was broken, the plate as it crashed into the cement, and the teacup after it was put back together. She was the bloody handle of the cup. She was ever changing.

She is unbroken.

dorianlynde.com