The work exhibits a compilation of inner and outer transformation. Brought together under the title of this wooden sculpture are two distinct things – experience of exalted elevation and intersexuality.

It was during a residency in Japan when the idea for the sculpture first came about and, subsequently, the sketches were made. In Buddhist tradition a particular emanation of the Buddha is a man who had become compassionate, kind and attentive towards the world through enlightenment and was thereby partially transformed into a female form. Here the emphasis is on the individual experience – an inner spiritual journey whereby the physical transformation serves as means of expression. It seems a compelling idea to envision the spirituality and exalted elevation in the foreground, leaving the gender-specifics in the background. The feminine and masculine are seen in a different manner from the Western world.

Depiction of an intersex person within the context of Latvian patriarchal society is not a statement on its own although it may easily be perceived as such. Intersexuality is rather a flashing example that represents what cannot be easily accepted or even tolerated. It vividly exemplifies the close relation between our cultural background and morality – the biased and dogmatic vision of our existence. Meanwhile, the exalted elevation is not as easy to bypass – the piety towards the mystical moment of enlightenment persists regardless of cultural background. The work attends the contradictions within a cultural system on its own.

What am I prepared to recognize?

What am I willing to accept and tolerate?