Per(server)e by Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye

In her latest work, Per(server)e, Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye moves through internal and physical dialogues that channel the elements, space, and the body. Inspired by Machik Labdron and the chod lineage, Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye imagines severing ideas of attachment to the self and her habitual ways of perceiving. Twist, spill, unfold, and repeat—she welcomes what arises.  

Machik Labdron (1055–1153) is a historical figure famous for her mastery of the tantric practice of chod (“cutting through ego”) and who represents the path to female buddhahood. Cutting through ego or cutting attachments refers to the willingness to give up everything for other sentient beings, a goal for Buddhist practitioners.

Throughout the eight-day performance, the artist detaches the symbolic strings of “the self” that envelop her space, as if peeling back the layers of an onion. Her movements portray a tug of war between the modern society of her upbringing and the Buddhist roots in her Tibetan body. As she releases the strings, she attempts to sever ideas of the self while being in the present. For the movement, the artist listens to her body and draws from the five elements present in the Kalachakra Cosmology illustration: earth (yellow), water (white), fire (red), air (green), and space or quintessence (blue). The illustration can be viewed in this gallery.

This performance is co-curated by Marina Abramović and Michelle Bennett Simorella and made possible through the Marina Abramović Institute.

Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye will perform Per(server)e at the Rubin on September 5–8 and 12–15, 2024.

About the Artist

Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye (she/her)

b. 1997, Seattle, WA; lives in Seattle, WA; works in Seattle, WA and Boston, MA

Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye is a Tibetan American artist who works in dance performance, choreography, film, and improvisation. Movement and media form the visual components of her art as she investigates states that bring change and focus. Her practice is rooted in her Tibetan heritage as she is fueled by the desire to understand how the Dharma can be applied to this industrial society. She seeks ways we can reimagine ourselves and community.

“I am interested in exploring the ego because it is the basis that forms attachment, dualistic thinking, and is the root cause of suffering. In this work, I am diving into the core dilemma by being present while creating an internal process without a finished narrative from beginning to end. In this continuing moment of discovery, I’m trying to channel the presence and impermanence within the body.”

—Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye

www.tshedzom.com / @tshedzom

Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now is supported by Bob and Lois Baylis, Barbara Bowman, Daphne Hoch Cunningham and John Cunningham, Noah P. Dorsky, Marina Abramović Institute (MAI), Mimi Gardner Gates, Fred Eychaner, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, Jack Lampl, Dan Gimbel of NEPC, LLC, Agnes Gund, New York Life, Matt and Ann Nimetz, Namita and Arun Saraf, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Eileen Caulfield Schwab, Taipei Cultural Center in New York, and UOVO.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

The Rubin Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.