Imagination leads to reality
If Jonathan Livingston Seagull Were a Bird of Passage
To achieve the spirit of oneness


Shadows exist in our world because there is light. Light and shadow are a single entity. By transcending all boundaries and perceiving light and shadow as one, we can gain a bird’s-eye view of the world.

Our reality today is that we face a resurgence of chaos. There is an urgent need for as many of us as possible to increase our awareness, set off in a new direction, and soar toward a oneness that pervades the whole world.

As animals, humans have the instinct to proliferate, but now we must now consider how to transcend that instinct. We have reached the point where humanity’s further existence is doomed unless we can achieve a state of being that truly goes beyond our animal selves.
This is not only a crisis of survival for humankind, but also a crisis for our planet.

Nearly all problems trace their origin to overpopulation. Now more than ever, destruction of the natural environment, food crises, war, discrimination, and poverty are problems that demand each and every human to see themselves as members of the global community. The consummate pursuit of individualism leads to a oneness in which every individual is cherished.

Maris is an art style that I invented to enable people who are blind to appreciate paintings together with sighted people. Images are expressed through sand. Grains of sand are placed together to form a painting, with each grain embodying hope for the future. For this occasion, I chose to express Jonathan Livingston Seagull as a bird of passage. Migratory birds fly high in the sky as a flock to reach their promised land, going many days without sleeping and traveling through the impenetrable darkness of night. Their eyesight does not allow them to see through the blackness of night. Yet, by continuing to fly together as a group, they are able to make it to their destination.

Just as birds of passage successfully travel great distances to a land of safety by flying in a flock, we humans should become one so that we can reach a bright future together.

For my project, I will do a live painting in the Maris style. I will create an image of a seagull on a white background on the floor, which will symmetrically mirror a seagull painted on a black background on the wall behind it. The seagull will not be depicted in flight, but its spirit will be soaring.
The painting will be of Jonathan Livingston Seagull portrayed as a bird of passage, and I will create it by placing grains of sand one by one on a transparent PVC panel set on the floor.

The white and black versions of the seagull will be the same size, with both paintings matching up perfectly. The painting on the floor will be a personified seagull. By creating the pair of paintings, I will express the ideal of oneness.