Helplessness
Helplessness is a feeling that is seen as unacceptable in the human world. The sensation that there is not a single thing a person can do in order to change an outcome is devastating. Often times to combat this, spirituality, rituals, faith and activism are implemented. Even if these actions have no direct effect on the problem or issue one is trying to change, the simple notion that something is “being done” is often enough to calm feelings of uselessness.
In ancient China, feng shui principles were enacted for many reasons: love, luck, success…One such symbol was that of the golden ship. The ship symbol is one of the most used business logos in China today because of its ancient connection with good fortune. In order to improve profit and luck, a model sailing ship is to be placed in the office with the sails pointing inwards, as if the winds of good fortune are blowing inwards towards the business. The ship should be gold or should be filled with mock gold coins.
The use of rituals and symbolism doesn’t simply mute the feeling of helplessness; as we know, most times traditions and religions are taken with the utmost seriousness and belief. In Russia on the dawn of the First World War, in an effort to thwart off a cholera outbreak, the women of a small village assembled at midnight, unbeknownst to the men. Nine maidens let down their hair and three widows covered their heads with white shawls. All of the women stripped to their undergarments and gathered plows, sickles, animal skulls and other threatening tools. They plowed a large ditch around the village while yelling and shrieking. The ditch was meant to let free the healing powers of Matka Ziema, the Slavic Mother Earth deity. If one of the men from the village awoke and stumbled upon this ritual, they were killed.
This need to take action is not a phenomenon constrained by time or location, it is one of the few human conditions that transcends both time and space. Currently, undertones of uncertainty and random, muted currents of impending doom have been plaguing America. The idea that we don’t know exactly what will happen next, or that we have no say in political matters is troublesome to the majority of us. For the many Americans that do not identify with a specific religion, who do not have deep roots to fall back on, these photographs are a visual representation and exploration of some of the “cures” to helplessness and the unknown future, which is often feared.
