A Slow Day of Returning
Community Day · January 3
Part of Gateless Gate II: Ritual of Returning
Presented by Ann Shi, a poco art collective
A slow unfolding of tea, breath, paper, and presence.
A Slow Day of Returning is a community day held in conjunction with Gateless Gate II: Ritual of Returning, conceived as a shared ritual rather than a conventional event. The afternoon unfolds through embodied practices that move between tea, breath, and the hand—inviting participants to return not to an elsewhere, but to what has never been separate.
At the center of the day are two intimate Japanese tea ceremony sessions led by Kaoru (Kiki) Kuribayashi, held within Flora Kao’s Hope—the wrapping of the loft space by packaging twine and ginkgo leaves that transforms the architecture into a tactile enclosure. As tea is prepared and shared, the fragrance of tea and ginkgo intermingles, grounding the body while evoking cycles of memory, decay, and return. The installation functions not as backdrop, but as a container: a cave-like interior, a maternal holding space where sensory experience precedes interpretation.
The program continues with a brief Ba Duan Jin breath-and-body practice, conducted within sound and light in front of Relational’s The Universe Breathes Us, where breath becomes a reminder that body and cosmos are not distinct systems, but continuous exchange. An origami workshop led by Flora Kao follows, where folding operates as a quiet, repetitive gesture—an act of care, remembrance, and return through the hands.
Across the afternoon, tea, breath, and material gesture form a single logic: returning not as regression, but as recognition. The cave, the womb, and the universe are not metaphors for elsewhere—they are conditions we are already inside.
Space is limited by design. Tea ceremonies require punctuality.
— Program Schedule–
2–3:50pm Tea Ceremony, led by Kaoru Kuribayashi
$45 · Max 7 participants per session.
2–2:45pm Session I
3:05–3:50pm Session II
4–4:15pm
Breath & Body Practice (Ba Duan Jin 八段錦)
A short qigong sequence focusing on breath, circulation, and gentle activation, conducted in front of
Relational’s The Universe Breathes Us
Open to all attendees
4:30–5:30pm
Origami Workshop, led by Flora Kao
$25 · Max 6 participants
Materials provided
Your contribution help cover the materials costs and artists’ time.
