Bravery

It’s hard to keep showing up and doing something challenging. Yesterday, a friend celebrated a thousand days without drinking. I’ve meditated more than 3,000 days in a row now (over 3,500 total, but I skipped seven when the world seemed too bleak to do anything productive). It’s brave to wake up every day and make sure that those we love have food to eat, somewhere warm and dry to sleep, and a place to grow. And it’s brave to speak up for what we believe in, whether we’re adding our voice to a chorus of thousands or ours is the only one that can be heard. Micro acts of bravery build resilience.

Susan Philipsz’s medium is her untrained, unaccompanied voice. Her sound sculptures are recordings of her singing a cappella, playing through speakers sometimes placed inside, sometimes outside. The sound of her voice is always psychologically charged and offers an elegiac experience. Her words tell stories of resistance and joy.