Boxes. They’re all around us. We are in them physically, mentally and spiritually. So many boxes have been created for and by us and it’s up to us to figure out how best we will navigate all of these four sided spaces. Artist Maps Glover does a wonderful job displaying the human journey through a world of boxes with his debut performance piece “Maps in a Box”. Made of a thick plastic material, his box is supported by wrapping the plastic around a large four pillar water tower that stands tall outside of the host gallery ‘Latela’. Inside the box there is an assortment of what appeared to be oil paint, a large canvas, MacBook pro, a chair, iPhone and a clear plastic cup of red wine that I had the pleasure of refilling for Glover. Glover himself was quite the spectacle clad in a black cat suit topped with blue Hanes briefs, a nose painted red, red beret with a white t-shirt underneath and protective eye glasses. In a very meditative manner, Glover began his performance by standing very still and immersing himself in the moment. From there he took to his canvas and painted the word “Wind”. Like the wind the show began to flow. Glover engaged with his audience by mirroring the actions of onlookers, folding and throwing paper planes out of the box, even granting his audience entry into the box with hopes that they could experience his reality within his box. Everyone who experienced “Maps in a Box” was a part of the performance. The onlooker experience itself was symbolic of how we look on from outside of other people’s boxes (religion, sexual orientation, marriage, financial situation, etc.) trying to make our best assessment of what we perceive life to be like within their particular box (situation). Inviting people into our boxes help others to understand our reality within our boxes. We also can remove ourselves from our boxes (because they’re always open whether we can see it or not) in order to step into other boxes or assess whether the box we have been in still perpetuates growth. Boxes must be open as this is how we connect physically, mentally and spiritually with others to create boxes of love, peace, understanding and comfort. Keep your box open wide to the experience of other boxes so that you may continue to evolve in this world full of inescapable four sided structures.
Find Maps Glover @ mapsglover.com IG: @mapsglover
Written by: Khari Malik IG: @khai_malik
Photo by: Khari Malik