Sponsored by the Taiwan Ministry of Culture. *Full HEART Mandala, 120 minutes, 1920 x 1080, 2019

This exclusive work is part of the HEART series by Sonia Li. HEART Mandala explores spirituality through Li's deepest emotional and spiritual reserve, cultivated from internal energies of personal transformations through dance. HEART came out of this period to reflect her conscious alignment to the divine feminine within. It honors the great intelligence of nature - the ocean, animals, trees and the human body, forming a circle of vitality to awaken exuberant universal healing energy. Three dancers embodied their soul animals and improvised to explore visceral emotions of love, strength and struggle with personal stories, creating emotionally driven images inspired by Pina Bausch’s dance theater. Influenced by Tibetan murals, or 'talking walls', Li uses contemporary technology to activate ancient spiritual teachings, including images of nature and symbolic universal portals for higher energetic vibration. HEART Mandala comes from a lineage of video works with research in neurology, psychology and the ever shifting mind-body connection. Li researched optical illusions for dementia elderly, and internalized the knowledge. The result, often described as 'mesmerizing', 'intoxicating' and 'relaxing', retain visual focal points and tap into dopamine brain parts to induce pleasurable and calm experiences.

HEART series have shown internationally at Swisscom Arena NOOW / Switzerland, Centro Cultural FIESP / FILE Festival, Naves Matadero / Spain Moving Image Festival, Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center / NYC, Lightbox NYC / CADAF. Winner of AFIAS Moving Image Award, Spain, 2019.