Alma Jarnestad

i collect
i carefully weigh things in my hand and choose to take them in
feelings, memories, materials, objects and words
they stay with me
i carry them with me through life
the words become a mantra
they become a prayer
they become a promise

I am drawn to the worlds that emerge when we experience or feel something that transports us from our everyday lives. Some of these moments are quiet and brief; others are intense and overwhelming. Sometimes it’s lighting a candle and resting your head on someone’s shoulder. Sometimes it’s falling in love. Sometimes it’s making art. In those moments, you can see and understand that the world continues around you, but for a short moment, you are no longer a part of it. I look for these worlds, and I long for them.

In New Skin for the Old Ceremony, I work with infatuation as one of these worlds, exploring our relationship to what is sacred to us, to our artistic practice, and to the parallels between love and faith.