Project Description
Moxibustion is a family practice for me: my mother gained this knowledge from her friends and then convinced me to practice it at home. This therapy heats up the body by burning the wormwood above the skin's surface, thereby achieving a means of curing diseases. After I moved to the Netherlands, I used moxibustion more spontaneously to treat myself and relieve pain on body and gastrointestinal problem, which caused by from the discomfort I was experiencing with the system as an immigrant, the cultural disconnect, the homesickness, and the most, important, the structural problem. When I warm specific parts of my body with wormwood, its characteristic smell and temperature reconnects me with the environment I once lived in. The wormwood is a spiritual guide for active transmigration, with inclusivity and tolerance, in a gesture of rest, pause and breath to allow the body to recover autonomously.
Possible ways to expand the project
I want to continue to collaborate with therapist and botanist, to expand the project to a space for rehabilitation, including moxibustion experience, workshops and performances.
Qiaochu Guo
Qiaochu Guo(1995) is an artist currently based in Eindhoven, a humid hesitating limp creature. Their recent works explore the embodied tension of the power dynamics between their identity and the environment.
Estimated costs
Material costs: I wish to gather moxa that grow in Netherland (need to get permission), and also think about planting them by myself. I also need fabric and others, I estimate those would be around 1500. Artist fee: I need to work at least 5 month (planting is not accounted in), and each month for 600 euro. So intotal it would be around 4500 euro.
This proposal is part of the 'Penny for your Thoughts' project 2022.