The sword song | Pier Lamandé

The sword song

Pier Lamandé

We are often unsettled, disoriented and shaken by a reality that is difficult for us to grasp. The challenges we face today can lead us to withdraw into ourselves, decide to annihilate any form of personal evolution, or experience a fear that breeds aggression and rejection. Yet the most ancient and foundational narratives beckon us, through diverse cultural traditions, to plunge into this vast unknown – a wellspring of wisdom and illumination – and there to embrace the other in the fullness of their humanity.

Like the Japanese artist Akeji Sumiyoshi, who lived as a hermit on the margins of our world, we hold the power to expand our own reality. We can dictate a personal cadence that honours the complexity of who we are. What if the key lies in breaking through the paralysis of fear, reclaiming our true needs, and rebuilding our foundations?

Straddling the line between tradition and contemporaneity

And so this being appears at the centre of a world suffocating under its own frantic pace and overwhelming abundance. Driven to slow down his experience of that world, he halts to question each of its underlying elements. Straddling the line between tradition and contemporaneity, he explores every facet of this chaotic landscape – all in the hope of reconstructing a cohesive reality of which he can truly be a part.

Striking at the core of Japanese tradition, the sword cuts through space to isolate and redefine the five elemental forces: earth, water, fire, air (wind), and the void – the ultimate seat of fulfilment and creation. By practising his art, the protagonist paves the way to rebuilding his existence and restoring cosmic balance. This performance ultimately encourages us to embark on a similar journey, guiding us towards a less antagonistic future.