The images from The White Room were made in collaboration with the ritualist Timothy White Eagle as part of our ongoing dialogue about the practice of art as a sacred act.
The White Room opened in November of 2015. It was conceived as a Sacred Space, and inspired in part by the all-white “Celestial Rooms” of the Mormon temples.
These Celestial Rooms are meant to convey a literal sense of heaven on earth, and were accessible only to the “righteous,” and the "pure of heart.” They were not available to me. Mormonism, the religion of my childhood, was embedded with racisms and homophobia. As both queer, and a person of a color, I was excluded from these rooms, and would therefore be excluded from heaven itself.
The White Room was created as an alternate vision of Sacred Space--as a “temporary autonomous zone”--where there were to be no rules or prohibitions, and all would be welcome. Covering the floor of the White Room was “Avi” or sacred clay. Considered medicine by the Indigenous people of central Oregon, this clay was used for ritual cleansing and often coated the visitors to the White Room.
The space was made available to the public and, over the course of two months, hosted concerts, healing ceremonies, drum circles, a dumb supper, and a birthday party. Over fifty visitors came for private sessions with me, as host and ritualist. These one-on-one experiences varied widely but all shared ecstatic energy: sound, movement, song, scream, meditation, trance and quiet. In the sharing of space—in a room without rules--we gave and got permission to explore.
The White Room was created as the sacred space I needed, both to heal my childhood and claim my power as a creator. I gave myself permission to play. I allowed myself to be big. I created a space where my highest self was encouraged to come forward, and where I held space for others to join me.
~ Timothy White Eagle
Monk
Scrye
Medicine Man
Cardinal
Deacon
The Veiled
The Good Wife
Precentor
Clown
Doula
Gaia
Acolyte
The Cleansing
White and Delightsome
Guardian Figure No.1
Transcended Bishop
Avi
Guardian Figure No.2
Transcended Monk
High Priestess
Hierophant
Familiar
