'Happiness in the Void', 2013, Installation
The first major work from the Samana Project that took its form predominantly from a diary entry from a camping trip. As the viewer approaches the installation, they can hear the sound of the forest from outside and enter into darkness, they then have to work their way through layers of black drapery which over powers them with the smell of wood smoke and the audio increases as they journey further into the void. Finally they are presented with two suspended drawings on PVC sheet, of the canopy of the forest, one in front of the other against a dimly lit backdrop. Leaving the room means having to travel back the way they came, and so repeat the journey but with a very different perception on the environment. Returning to light could be looked on as a literal enlightenment, as they have gained a new experience.
I was striving to try and capture the two ends of extremity in living; serenity and fear. After much time spent camping I realised that the ends aren't ends at all, they are a part of the lateral natured void that life is. The viewer is subjected to a lot in the installation that could be seen as negative but it is how it is perceived, and a positive presence is always available in the eye of the beholder. In the forest I discovered that even when alone, in the pitch black of the night, with the rain hammering down deafeningly loud, I can still find peace and serenity in the dim star light through the imposing silhouettes of the trees. It's all one, in the journey, in the void of existence.
(These photos of the installation are only of a quick trial run, to see how well it all worked together. the final product will be finished very soon)
I was striving to try and capture the two ends of extremity in living; serenity and fear. After much time spent camping I realised that the ends aren't ends at all, they are a part of the lateral natured void that life is. The viewer is subjected to a lot in the installation that could be seen as negative but it is how it is perceived, and a positive presence is always available in the eye of the beholder. In the forest I discovered that even when alone, in the pitch black of the night, with the rain hammering down deafeningly loud, I can still find peace and serenity in the dim star light through the imposing silhouettes of the trees. It's all one, in the journey, in the void of existence.
(These photos of the installation are only of a quick trial run, to see how well it all worked together. the final product will be finished very soon)