Coming home to my shamanic roots with artist and researcher Alyen Foning
Artist, designer, storyteller and independent researcher Alyen Foning resides in her ancestral home, the Lepcha community at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, with its sacred mountains and rivers.. Creating with fabrics, colours, music and design, Alyen’s work serves as a bridge between both the fields of art and research, and ancestral pasts and future generations.
In this We As Nature episode, Alyen shares her journey from growing up in the city, disconnected from her Lepcha roots, to the psychotic breakdown she experienced in 2014 that changed her life forever. From this place of darkness arrived guidance from an unlikely source, and an invitation back to her lineage, community and shamanic traditions.
In Alyen’s We As Nature story, she shares:
- How art has been a source of remembering her interconnection with the natural world since childhood.
- The breakdown she experienced whilst living in Goa that led her to discover her role as a shaman in her ancestral community.
- How her experiences as a Shaman have impacted her lifestyle, her art and her relationships.
- Guidance and a prayer, which came through after sharing her personal story.
After Alyen’s story, in a twist to our usual format, we share some of the questions and answers from the live event.
You can listen below or find this episode on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, Amazon and Apple
Links:
Remembering our sacred Himalayan river Teesta and the Water Dragon— YouTube and Story with Artwork.
The Story of the Muun, Female Shamans of the Lepcha tribe: A Video story session hosted by White Otter Academy.
About Alyen
Alyen Leeachum Foning is an artist/designer and independent researcher who uses her Art and Storytelling medium to help remember our connection to Mother Earth. She derives her inspiration from searching into her Lepcha roots and reflecting on her life’s journey.
Through her storytelling we journey through longing, loss and disconnection. Finding our way forward through remembrance we delve into our origins, shamanism and our deep connection and interdependence to nature.
She is a textile artist who has studied Textile and Apparel design at NID, Ahmedabad. Her works are inspired by Nature and indigenous world cultures. She is the creator of the installation ‘The Story of Munn’ ,which was exhibited at ‘So Many Feminisms!’ conclave by Godrej India Culture Lab in collaboration with Zubaan Books in February 2019.
She also runs a design label-ALYEN FONING that believes in the power of Mother Nature, communities, upcycling and the skills of local artisans in narrating stories through Art, Words, Artisanal Creations inspired by Mother Nature, Our Roots, Oral histories & Inner journeys. Her label represents like minded people coming together to create, collaborate, celebrate, empower and give back to society in small, yet conscious ways.
Illustrations by Rohama Malik
Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith
Music Composer & Sound Producer: Dom Martin
Live Event Curation & Production: Katy Molloy & Laura Tyley
Artist, designer, storyteller and independent researcher Alyen Foning resides in her ancestral home – the Lepcha community, with its sacred mountains and rivers, at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. Creating with fabrics, colours, music and design, Alyen’s work serves as a bridge between the fields of art and research, and between ancestral pasts and future generations.