Territorial Tension
marble and ceramic
Territorial Tension
“A slow yet assured approach. Our chins drop, our eyes lift as we circle each other steadily, never once breaking our gaze. I study it, cataloguing its strengths, its weaknesses and I observe every move, wondering if I can anticipate the next. Moments stretch into what feels like eternity until suddenly I begin to recognize parts of myself in my rival. My muscles tighten, bracing for a moment of impact that could ignite at any second.
A thought arrests my attention and I cannot help but wonder “Which part of us hungers for dominion — the beast or the human?” Locking eyes with our opponent feels innate, a pulse of nature, whether in the wild, on the battlefield, across a boardroom, within the walls of our own homes, within our relationships. Moments where we assert our dominance, stand in for what we believe and fight for what we deem right. But what if that opponent turns out to be… ourselves? We know all our strengths and all of our weaknesses from the inside out. Is it a fair battle or thus the fairest of them all ?
I have come to believe that the “old” and the “new” self are nothing but illusions; no, we reside between them, keeping both of their particles alive. I don’t think it's an ultimatum, nor an extinction of one by the other, but instead a merging of sorts. A rebirth, a renaissance, a new beginning.”
