Marjorie Garcés Ocares

Temuco, Chile

Can we nurture healthy human interactions?

I chose a pencil to draw the portrait of the preacher. I’d always begin with the eyes because they’d tell so much. I was 7, 10, 13 years old, and I was sitting at church meditating, immersed in this holy space inside my head; experiencing peace channeled by my drawings, while adults around me would talk about sin and guilt and while I’d read about wars and hate inside the Bible. I knew life was going to be like this, filled with violent human dynamics. I was ready. I knew we’d only have true peace in heaven but… I’d always tended to question this. Can there also exist lasting peaceful dynamics here? Is it possible to nurture healthy interactions in the world? In my world? I mean, I’m able to enter these pieces of heaven when I draw, sing or dance, I can even attune with others there! Couldn’t this build better dynamics?… This uncomfortable curiosity led me far beyond my dreams and obsessed with this idea, I’d later explore all kinds of human lives to draw what was hidden behind their eyes, with the increased certainty that heaven could be found inside our bodies or in any pencil nearby.