Locus

A particular position or place where something occurs or is situated.

Altered states of consciousness, power play with others, the origin of feelings, territories, consent. Is there an “I” that is not situated? How far does this “situation” of the self go?

Exploring this question is the main topic across all my work, whether it is by learning from the experiences of others, relating narratives, phenomenology, or my own creative endeavors.

If there is a “place” in which to find hints on the situation of the self, I believe it will be on the edge of meaning but very much into life. As Audre Lorde puts it:

Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. […] As they become known to and accepted by us, our feelings and the honest exploration of them become sanctuaries and spawning grounds for the most radical and daring of ideas.

Audre Lorde, The Selected Works…, p.4

As we dare into the unknown by walking on these “spawning grounds”, something profound happens: we are altered by what we encounter and become “unknown” to ourselves.

This is how I understand the Sufi concept of dhikr (remembrance, ego effacement, wakefulness). When we remember “here”, we forget “me”.

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