Paul Kaptein’s sculptures, complete with empty spaces, gave me pause. When I first saw the images I didn’t know anything about the artist. I knew the emotion those empty spaces called up in me, but could there be another reason for them?
Idioteque
laminated, hand carved wood
Reading his About page brought things into focus. I’m in a particular state of mind lately. . .grieving for more than one reason. When I saw the sculptures, the holes resonated with the empty places in me, representing loss.
the feeling of no feeling
laminated hand carved wood, life size
The Archivist
laminated, hand carved wood
Then I read what Kaptein wrote on the About page of his website. I sat straight up in my chair. My perspective changed and my heavy heart felt lighter, if only for a moment. . .but still.
Echoplasia
laminated, hand carved wood
Kaptein speaks of sunyata, a Sanskrit word translated into English as emptiness. However, in Buddhist teachings emptiness carries a different meaning than the one most often associated with it. Oh, yes.
and in the endless pauses there came a sound
laminated, hand carved wood
The simplest explanation I found for sunyata was this: “The reason for the Buddhist teaching of emptiness is to loosen all attachments to views, stories and assumptions, leaving the mind empty of all greed, anger, and delusion; therefore empty of suffering of stress, anxiety, frustration and unsatisfactoriness.” (source)
Contours Of Emptiness
The last sentence of Paul Kaptein’s short statement helped to shift something in me:
”Often considered a void, Sunyata offers endless possibility.”
Powerful. Read his very short, succinct statement here.
Paul Kaptein’s website