Map project description:

Taxonomy of Breathing is a project that investigates our current societal moment through the lens of breath—its vulnerability, its oppression, and its power of transformation. The fragility of the body—and breath as its sine qua non—is a manifestation of our environment, our historical moment, and our political and social context.  It is at once foundational and aspirational, embodied and symbolic. 

This current moment—a watershed that without a doubt will serve to mark the passage of eras—can in many ways be crystallized, condensed and illuminated, through the lens of the breath. The breath—our respiratory system—is the primary target of this virus that has swept through and is reshaping our world. It is the site of the transgression, the violence, the oppression that catalyzed a racial justice uprising that has not been seen in a generation. 

‘I CAN’T BREATHE’ . Wildfires choking the West.  Blue skies in Beijing and Delhi.  Black lung vs. livelihoods.  Pandemic, racial injustice, environmental cataclysm—the breath connects them all. Yet the breath as site, holds the promise of transformation. In the midst of the despair, the desperation, the dissolution, and depression that pervades this slow-moving unraveling of life as we knew it, there is an expanding of movements towards mindfulness and meditation, anchored by and centered around a simple observation of the act of breathing. Breath is grounding us, slowing us, silencing us, giving us space to expand, offering us distance and perspective on what we can and cannot control.  In some ways breath is all we control…except when we can’t….leading back to pandemic, police brutality, and environmental catastrophe; a circle both vicious and virtuous. There is an expression used in some Spanish-speaking countries concerning memory and conflict: “respirar por las heridas,” which translates to "breathe through wounds." In this moment, it can also help us locate breath as both the site of the wounds and the redemptive possibility inherent in them—the promise of healing, faith in the regenerative power of life, our ability to survive. 

This project explores the “act of breathing” as a constellation of elements—historical, societal, environmental, embodied—and as an archive of this watershed moment in history.  The attached map attempts to chart the layers, the connections, and interlocking parts.  

We have sent this to 100 people globally with prompts to respond and return the maps. The responses will then be consolidated into one aggregate master map that reflects a more global perspective.

If you would like to request a map to participate, please reach out through the contact info.