62 days north, a solitude experiment
I drove 1600 kilometers North and for 62 days an unknown place would be my home. Born in a crowded country, I wanted to find out what it would feel like to live alone and away from everything I knew, without the constant connection to the outer world through phones or internet.
I wanted to leave it all and walk the edges of my own limitations and for these 62 days I lived in a small cottage by a lake.
The plan was clear. Taking my dogs as my companions as I could not deny them this freedom and adventure, keeping a journal and turn this experience into a graphic novel. I did stick to the plan and made the book, but for a long time, even while I was creating this as a part of my master-project, this experience felt like it was mine, and mine alone. Not that this was unique. Not that I did not want to but it felt un-shareable as I saw my words just sliding off, my thoughts suffocated between walls and concrete and memories making a full frontal crash with the reality of fast city life.
I had lived something that with the change of seasons crawled under my skin, hooked in my flesh and that was not prepared to let go.
And how strange or unpleasant that might sound to you, it really isn’t. As weird as it might sound, I had a great time on my own and yes, I had to find my way back into my own life, being aware of every beatific as well as every burning sensation that came with the whole experiment, but most of all it was an extraordinary experience that is still fueling my inspiration and motivations today. As an artist I have (the urge) to explore, have to feel, have to be aware.
Avoidance only works if you’re sleepwalking through life.
Not a minute, not a second I’ve regretted the choice of this journey and because it has a positive impact in my life, I would like to share this experience as well as some tips in case you want to get out and find a venture for yourself.
–Want to know how I chose my destination?
or what I’ve learned from this journey?
Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence. Henry David Thoreau