The first temple was built 2 years ago, in a 60s Shasta trailer. It took place during Miami art week. After years of attending Art Basal, I wanted to contribute to it. I flew into Miami the week before & worked on the temple from morning til late night. At times is was over 100 degrees inside. Allen flew out & helped with the temple. He called it Basal Bootcamp. We worked non-stop the whole weekend, eating pb & jelly sandwiches out of a cooler.
People’s reactions were varied, ranging from becoming highly emotional to how the fuck did you get permission to do this? Truth is, I gave myself permission to do it & crossed my fingers. Often times if I think about something too hard or research it enough, I’ll talk myself out of doing it.
People from around the world stumbled upon the temple! When they entered, I walked out, giving them a moment to look around & experience it alone. There were people who only took selfies, but even they, in their own way understood that it was visually beautiful.
There were mandarins for everyone & a hidden bottle of El Corralejo to celebrate with people who appreciated it.
One artist went out and found a sharpie for people to sign their Polaroids. There was nowhere to buy a marker, we’d already looked. In return I gave him a JOY pin, then he pulled out a T shirt & gave it to me. It was so damn great.
The polaroids in the new temple are of visitors who really took something away from the Miami version. These folks were genuinely curious, they absorbed it, meditated for a spell, or met new people in the temple & shared a moment with strangers. It forced people, in the midst of a party state of mind, or rather environment, to slow down & be present. Recently, I came across the polaroids & decided I wanted them to be included in the new temple, because those people were such a huge part of it.
The build out on the 2nd temple took 3 months & 10x the materials. It’s a much larger space & the timing of the opening is serendipitously the same weekend as Art Basal.
Watching people experience the TOJ was partly motivation to do it again. It’s also fun to make stuff, but mostly it’s about creating counter culture, because that’s where I thrive.
It’s highly encouraged that you bring something to add to the two alters; a token or memento that invokes happiness, or bring whatever you want! If you want it back, you can write your number on it or send an email & I’ll return it.
@misstresssamantita & @claudiascomerci will bring their magic & I’ll be giving Reiki to people who sit in the purple hand chair. I can’t wait to see who shows up & what will be! I’ll be the one drinking the kool-aid, with a big smile.
Temple of JOY SF