Himalayanwalk

The video “Himalayanwalk” shows an apparently aimless moving forward human being in the Himalayan landscape. Without defined starting point or end goal the human being continues to walk and seems to be absorbed by the elements. Some of the actions of the person in the video refer to a ritual, practiced in Tibetan Buddhism and in Bon, a pre-Buddhist nature-related religion from Tibet; The pilgrim stretches him/herself continuously and repeatedly on the ground, in order to cover the distance by the whole body. A pilgrimage can then take years. Time is not an issue. The act and the experience of the ritual are part of an awareness process: Time and place are only intermediate stations. This video emphasizes the connection between human beings and the earth, as well as the relativity of human conduct. It expresses the notion that humankind is just a passer-by on the universal time-scale; Human existence as being ‘in transit’. By showing the video with a loop, the viewer is being taken along on a continuous, contemplative journey without destination.