body and storytelling

A body deposits time lapses; it stores memories, which are often reflected through gestures, movements, interaction with other bodies, eye contacts, voice, and pattern of breathing. Every action radiates with a particular wavelength that reflects a particular element of the culture and tradition of her society. A body, which is emblematic of a society, exists in three forms: life body, physical body, and ideal body. Life body consists of habits and normative behaviors that are ingrained on an unconscious level; these are practiced repetitiously throughout one’s lifetime through customs and daily routines. Physical body is the actual limitations and restrictions that the body experiences while in an artistic moment. These restrictions are often rooted in tradition and culture, which presuppose certain ways of the body according to the ideologies of a society. The physical body is shaped by taboos and social expectations, and it conforms to what is conventional and socially acceptable. When a body can transcend its physical level, it has a potential to realize what it thinks is ‘ideal.’ The ideal body is the most artistic form of the three because it is the most liberated. It transcends social, cultural, and political boundaries of surroundings. Just as some people are born with more flexibility than others, some bodies have greater capacity to expose the subtle layers of history stored in the body. When the ideal body discovers its history in its own body, it can dismantle the deeply habituated patterns, and reconstruct new ‘ideals.’ When these new ideals can be practiced enough with other such ideal bodies, the new ideas form physical manifestations of a new paradigm.