Exploring the queer nature of healing
Responding to plant portals: breath by Nicky Chue
By Asyia Iftikhar - 06/08/20
Mindfulness is a vast and complicated practice, especially for queer and trans People of Colour. Whether through avenues of therapy or guided self-care, the support we seek rarely acknowledges our historic trauma and marginalisation. Through a union of imagery, voiceovers and music, Nicky Chue explores how, through appreciating these aspects of our identity and the impact they have on our existence, we can find ways in which to heal.
The four minute mindful journey of plant portals: breath finds you transported into evergreen fields; your hands running through smooth grass, sinking into the embrace of soft tones and rooted woes. Chue narrows in on the overarching themes straightaway: nature and instinct. The two are interwoven throughout their words and images. We are invited to look within ourselves and carve out the passage of our breath, to consider how the air that flows is an instinct familiar only to ourselves.
Chue is known for their work of weaving together the historic place of queer and trans People of Colour through artistic and abstract expression; plant portals: breath is a true reflection of this style. Our complex and eternal existence is subtly embedded into powerful statements set to the backdrop of the vibrant natural landscape. In a post-colonial world, LGBTQIA+ communities are trying to re-establish identities in places where their voices are often ignored or silenced. Chue parallels this dynamic in their work, by never explicitly mentioning the underlying theme of queerness.
Outside of the Western World, queer and trans representation has always been present and woven into local history and culture. Through the queer paintings of Japanese Artists in the Edo period; or the pre- and post-colonial legacy of the Hijra community in the Indian subcontinent; or queer language effortlessly entwined into local African languages, the impact of colonial trauma unites queer and trans People of Colour. Chue never lets us forget the intrinsic message of origin and identity, describing intuition as ‘that old, ancestral knowledge’.
The film is an experience where each time you click play you discover a new aspect to mull over and appreciate. The juxtaposition of phrases and images is expertly done. The sense of mightiness, brought forth by the magnitude of queer history, the expanse of nature and never-ending depths of our mind, is placed in sharp contrast with the solitude of the figure in the piece and the general emptiness and tranquillity of the beat and images. With phrases such as ‘the breath that breaks me open is the breath that heals me’, the mastery of their words is breathtaking.
An upward arc for the meditation is created through both Chue’s images and words. The beginning is slow and ambling, making the audience relax into the steady flow of the meditation and as we progress we become lighter and lighter. In the final section of the film, the music becomes upbeat and the words glide out of their mouth in airy harmony. There is very much a sense of wholeness by the end and, just as meditation is meant to achieve, I felt rejuvenated.
By ending on the note of ‘kinship’ and togetherness, Chue lifts us out of isolation at the beginning to something far more hopeful by the end. Especially as we reorient ourselves to a world where solitude has defined the past few months, Chue brings this message at a time when billions across the planet can uniquely relate.
The final theme that struck me was that of ‘alternate universes’. The different visual mediums, from inverted images of faces to the deep blue ocean to patches of greenery, Chue successfully channels an idea of many universes all within one space. It makes us reflect on how we reconcile our identity with our surroundings and shape them. Are we able to create a new universe in which we are healed and at one with nature? It is a question we are left to think on as the film comes to an end.
Rest has never been so important and as the world shakily emerges from their houses, we must not forget the value of reflection. As though stepping through a portal, Chue centres you in on yourself and for a brief moment, you are alone.
Asyia Iftikhar is a student and freelance journalist. She is currently an editor at ‘The Meridian Magazine’ and founder of the Young Journalist Community.
Twitter: @asyiaiftikhar
