Mandalas of Mindfulness
Mindfulness Mandala was exhibited as part of Dwell at DesignTO, an installation inviting moments of calm inside Union Station, Canada’s busiest transit hub. With hundreds of thousands of travellers moving through each day, the work creates a brief pause in the rush, offering a quiet space to breathe and reconnect.
Mandalas of Mindfulness is a digital animation installation created for the DesignTO exhibition Dwell, presented inside Union Station, the busiest transit hub in Canada. The work transforms a high-traffic environment into a brief moment of calm, offering travellers a visual pause amid the pace of daily movement.
Rooted in traditional Indian mandala and lotus iconography, the piece reinterprets sacred geometry through contemporary digital form. The rhythmic motion and layered symmetry draw from Kalpit Patel’s personal experiences with mental health, originally conceived as a reminder to breathe through moments of overwhelm. Within the station’s constant flow, the work acts as a quiet point of grounding, inviting viewers into mindfulness and emotional reset.
Artwork Overview
Artistic Intent
The mandala has long served as a tool for meditation, order, and healing. By translating this form into a digital medium and situating it within an urban public space, the work bridges heritage, design, and contemporary art. It frames mindfulness not as a retreat from the city but as a counterbalance within it.
Mandalas of Mindfulness transforms Union Station’s bustling environment into a meditative space, inviting travellers to pause and reconnect. Drawing from traditional Mandala forms, the piece explores mental health, mindfulness, and personal reflection amid urban motion.
Digital patterns and rhythmic animation guide viewers through a visual meditation, while the Lotus-inspired design symbolizes purity, balance, and inner transformation.
By situating this contemplative work in a high-traffic transit hub, the installation translates a private, introspective practice into a shared, public experience, making space for stillness within the city’s flow.
Concept
Displayed on large-format screens, the animated Mandala engages viewers with slow, expanding and contracting motion, drawing attention to its intricate geometry. Travellers passing through Union Station may pause to focus, allowing the piece to center their attention and create a brief moment of calm. The luminous composition offers a sanctuary amid the rush, encouraging reflection, mindfulness, and emotional grounding within a bustling urban environment.
Audience Experience
Event Details
Festival: DesignTO Festival 2025
Exhibition: Dwell
Venue Partner: Union Station, Toronto
Medium: Digital animated mandala installation
Format: 55" large-scale video display
Admission: Free
Audience Context: Encountered by over 300,000 daily travellers, offering a contemplative pause amid Union Station’s bustling environment
