Jeppe Hein’s breath art signals new direction for UCSD’s Stuart Collection

In 2009, Danish artist Jeppe Hein was about to board an airplane — but found himself unable to breathe.

“My whole body started to shake and I couldn’t connect, I couldn’t control my body. I got very scared,” Hein said, describing the sudden panic attack. “I had a complete burnout and I needed to change the way I looked at myself.”

He said he had experienced success in his art up until that point but realized he had been seeking it in the wrong places — external things like acceptance, fame or money. He needed to turn inward, so he tried meditative breathwork and ultimately merged it with his artistic instincts.

“It’s definitely an art project that started because I couldn’t breathe myself, and I practiced a lot of breathing exercises, inventing these small lines. And then, to see, to give it to someone else and have people participating — for me, I think art is about opening up people’s hearts and creating a moment of being aware,” Hein said.

Jan Strempel

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Studio Jeppe Hein

“Breathe With Me” is a simple concept: Pick up a paintbrush, dip it in blue paint and touch it to the top of the canvas. Breathe in, and as you exhale, paint a line down the canvas until your exhale completes. Take four more breaths, and paint four more lines. By the fourth, you should feel connected and creative, Hein said.

This project is not just about introspection — it’s about using art to connect with others. The more people who participate, the more lines are added to the massive canvases — each one unique in length.

“One thing we have in common at least is our breath,” Hein said. “We are breathing the same air around the world, and it’s connecting us.”

Jan Strempel

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Studio Jeppe Hein

Hein has installed this project around the world, including at the United Nations headquarters in New York, with global political leaders and young climate activists. He’s now bringing it to San Diego as a temporary installation for the UC San Diego Stuart Art Collection.

From Thursday through Saturday, members of the community can add their breath and painted lines to the canvases at UCSD’s Epstein Family Amphitheater — just steps from the Blue Line Trolley station on campus. The finished art will be on view through Sunday, but the university has plans to tour the canvases to different sites on campus in the coming months.

It’s a bit of a detour for the collection, known for its striking and permanent public art pieces.

“It means that we’re able to address some of the very complex issues that we’re facing at a global scale,” said Jess Berlanga Taylor, director and curator of the Stuart Art Collection. “That we’re able to face and explore them together.”

The lauded public art series is planning to bring annual temporary commissions from leading contemporary artists worldwide.

Taylor says the goal is for the art to be participatory and connective.

“These are temporary projects that really focus on bringing people together, and being able to open our hearts, to share our stories in public space while creating art, which is such a powerful and transformative tool,” Taylor said.

“(Breathing) reminds me that I’m a part of something much bigger, and that is always a relief, in the sense that I’m connected to other people, to other energies, to other stories. And this feeling of connection is, I think, a very beautiful way to counteract any sort of isolation or vulnerability that we may be feeling nowadays,” Taylor said. “Breathing also reminds me that I’m very much alive, and that I’m here and I’m now.”

Jan Strempel

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Studio Jeppe Hein

On Saturday, Oct. 26, Hein will be joined by actress Laura Linney (“Ozark,” “The Big C”) for an on-stage conversation about mental health, mindfulness and art. The discussion and each day’s painting sessions are free and open to the general public. Reservations are recommended.