I recently created 2 new videos (more like image collages) of 2 older artworks called "Visionary Chambers". They are miniature assemblage box dioramas, 14 of them so far. These boxes are immersive. They are created for individual viewing, so they are elusive to photograph. I am reluctant to talk much about their concept, as this changes for each piece and it is usually quite elaborate. In general, I conceive of them as contained "realms" similar to that which I have found in dreams and visions. Part of the goal of these works was to give such elusive dimensions (half-imaginary-half-hypereal) a concrete form, without loosing some of their intangible qualities.
Visionary Chamber 5: Wizard's Table
Visionary Chamber 6: Blue Chair
I admit this one is a bit creepy, but it was inspired by a true event: a rather unsettling yet very powerful experience related to my real-life exploration with the aforementioned realms. In a description from an older (2009) video of this box I wrote: "It is inspired in a series of mind-experiments were I launched from my blue living room chair, out of my body, into Other Space. There was a scary gate-keeper there which is depicted in this video. He and his whole family offered me a tea party and by then I had forgotten who I was. I almost stayed there forever, but fortunately I remembered my earthly existence just in time, and returned".
I now refer often to Other Space, which can only be described or depicted in metaphorical ways. I believe many others have described and depicted similar places, popular examples of which are Wonderland, Neverland, Narnia and many others. The mistake is to think that these are solely imaginary places, not realizing the metaphorical and liminal essence of the reality that these stories insinuate. There is something about the existence of a parallel world (right below our noses) that is a reocurring theme of many stories throughout the world. I believe, by means of personal experience, that such stories tell of a journey that any individual can undergo, but only once they have found an entryway. Falling in through a rabbithole or an old closet, entering through a crack on the wall or the crevice of a tree, crossing a mushroom ring, waterfall of mirror; these are some of the preferred methods ;)
But there are many more ways in which the persistent and seeking soul will find such delicious portals. For me, it is through my work.
Sweet Dreams!
AA11
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Realm of HUMAZUMA
Some images from a work in progress called "Realm of Humazuma".
On a recent statement about this work I wrote:
"The body of work I am currently focusing on is another collection (or a conjunction) of objects, scenes and dioramas along the lines of previous bodies such as “POK Mummy Sites” and the “Visionary Chambers”. Like these works, “Realm of Humazuma” is an experiment in physicality, meta-physicality and the aesthetic experience. The work is being created mostly on paper, using paper, clays, pigments, ink, salt, sand, balsa wood and other materials. Much thought has gone into visualizing the work’s progression into a more immersive presentation. For now, humazuma is only a world in progress".
"Humazuma is a deity originally described by my six year-old son. Its realm is that of impermanence, natural cycles, ritualistic objects and arrangements; all interwoven through desolate island/desert/landscape/shrine scenes. Humazuma is, in a general sense, the God of flowing water, clay, erosion, vessels, markings and patterns, and certain specific man-made interventions, such as “alignments of things”. In its domain are objects such as sidewalk cracks, flower pots, clotheslines, holes, shadows, and dimensional portals. There is a fundamental simplicity in the surface appearance of the Realm of Humazuma, which allows me -and the viewer- for an easy entry, plenty of open interpretation, mystery and discovery. It is perhaps through the eyes of my son that I have recovered a desire to not take even the simplest of things for granted, to not put words on things as much, and just absorb them fully and openly as they arrive. This might be the most important consideration if one is interested in dwelling with the aesthetic experience whatsoever, is to not over-rationalize it".
Thanks for hanging out!
AA11
On a recent statement about this work I wrote:
"The body of work I am currently focusing on is another collection (or a conjunction) of objects, scenes and dioramas along the lines of previous bodies such as “POK Mummy Sites” and the “Visionary Chambers”. Like these works, “Realm of Humazuma” is an experiment in physicality, meta-physicality and the aesthetic experience. The work is being created mostly on paper, using paper, clays, pigments, ink, salt, sand, balsa wood and other materials. Much thought has gone into visualizing the work’s progression into a more immersive presentation. For now, humazuma is only a world in progress".
"Humazuma is a deity originally described by my six year-old son. Its realm is that of impermanence, natural cycles, ritualistic objects and arrangements; all interwoven through desolate island/desert/landscape/shrine scenes. Humazuma is, in a general sense, the God of flowing water, clay, erosion, vessels, markings and patterns, and certain specific man-made interventions, such as “alignments of things”. In its domain are objects such as sidewalk cracks, flower pots, clotheslines, holes, shadows, and dimensional portals. There is a fundamental simplicity in the surface appearance of the Realm of Humazuma, which allows me -and the viewer- for an easy entry, plenty of open interpretation, mystery and discovery. It is perhaps through the eyes of my son that I have recovered a desire to not take even the simplest of things for granted, to not put words on things as much, and just absorb them fully and openly as they arrive. This might be the most important consideration if one is interested in dwelling with the aesthetic experience whatsoever, is to not over-rationalize it".
Thanks for hanging out!
AA11
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