“The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts.”
I painted this coral reef scene for the 2023 Graduation Ceremony for the graduating psychotherapists of the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy. I cut the painting into twenty-four squares and randomly distributed the parts to all the graduates. My intention was to make the painting whole again together and for everyone to take a piece of the painting home with them afterwords. However, this plan changed once we assembled the painting. One of the graduates suggested that we keep it whole instead and that is what we did. This painting is a gift to the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy.
Excerpt from My Speech
"This painting is an echo of my experience which we created together at the institute - all the faculty members, all the trainees however long they stayed in the program, interactions and impacts big and small. Each of you has a part of this painting, as each of you played a part in my development as a therapist and as a human. These pieces were given to you randomly. Currently, you may have the bright saturated yellows and oranges. Some of you have the dark parts, some of you have the empty parts, some the gentle pastel strokes, some of you have the background and others the foreground, some of you have a mix - all these parts important in making the painting whole. Tonight, we’ll assemble the painting together. This moment will only be possible in this moment, with all of us gathered here.
As I was working on this project, I was so excited about the prospect of having an experience together, that the idea of cutting up a whole painting was merely another step. It wasn’t until the cold metal of the scissors touched the paper that I felt hesitant and a bit of pain in my chest hearing the xrrrrt sounds of the cut. In order to have my imagined experience with you all, I destroyed the painting to some degree. My hope is that through the process of assembling it back together with you, this wound will heal. My hope is that the pieces you will take home with you will be taken good care of. They are a part of something bigger as each one of us is a part of this gestalt community."