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Me in the resting log.... final reflections

Water being held inside the sac.........

These were after Senna emerged but the water was still holding the shape of the bag.

My wonderful and brave friend and assistant, Senna Andisen, who helped me with the final photo mission despite crazy swarms of mosquitos and not the most perfect water temperature. She was a champion for sure

#rebirth

It was quite coincidental that when the water started to escape the sides of the bag that I found this hollowed out log to support the sides and held my friend Senna inside for the purpose of the photos.

#sensorydeprivationvagina

This was the original placement of the water hammock. However, the soil was very soft from the floods and the driftwood just wasn’t substantial enough to hold the water weight. So, I moved to plan B.......

Final Photo’s : I have posted final photos of the bottom of the hammock with the ‘Universal Mother’ image there.

#slocanriver

How and when do past/present/future collide?

When: Past/present/future collide when time exists in a non-linear way.

How: How to make time exist in a non-linear way? I feel like I keep coming back to this idea of losing track of time as important to gain access to the future and the past through the present. Time exists in the 4th dimension, according to Matt Williams, “Scientists believe that the fourth dimension is time, which governs the properties of all known matter at any given point. Along with the three other dimensions, knowing an object's position in time is essential to plotting its position in the universe” (phys.org). This passage makes me believe that ‘time’ only exists due to the essentiality of plotting position in the universe. This means that in order to plot a position, a physical/material presence or location to fill that presence is needed. Therefore to access non-linear time, it is essential to not hold a physical position. Again, this physical sense could be lost by the use of a sensory deprivation situation.

Reflect on an example in your own life experience.

In my own life experience when I have experienced this ‘losing track of time’ was when I was super motivated and engaged with some kind of project. Usually projects that required hand-eye coordination was when I could access this extreme focus resulting in losing track of time. I feel like my sewing studio at my mom’s house is like a portal into another dimension. I go down there and there is a different environment. It’s cozy, I can listen to music, I have everything I need (...and it’s free lol); the ultimate enriched environment. Which is why it seems serendipitous that due to many unforeseen circumstances that I will now be moving my sensory dep. Tank into a textile direction in hopes to make it portable and from my mom's basement. I don’t sew as much as I used to and am never very motivated to fix other people’s stuff for money. So this project has really come together in an interesting way and I am actually really excited and motivated and will feel this sensation of time being lost through the time travelling portal of my sewing studio in my mom’s basement. I’ll take some photos and post them as I go along.

Reflect on an artist or work of art that creates a collision between past/present/future

When I think of artists that create collisions between past/present/future, time existing in non-linear ways, not of the 4th dimension, it’s hard not to reference Alex Gray. His artwork hasn’t necessarily inspired me but I feel like it gives clues of what to look for when considering ‘Akashic Records’ and the information that is held there. I am not sure what dimension the Akashic Records are on but apparently they hold all the information from the past, the present and the future and is accessible with the right mental state. It’s funny because I am trying to find a painting or something that someone has done that inspires in me the akashic records, but even on the internet I can’t seem to find anything that I feel would represent it accurately. That being said, I have been trying to imagine what is outside of my ‘body bag/sensory dep.’ will look like and I think it might be an interesting idea to explore my vision of the akashic records as a surface design for my bag.

Works Cited

Williams, Matt. Dec 11, 2014, “A universe of 10 dimensions,” Universe Today, phys.org. phys.org/news/2014-12-universe-dimensions.html

I want to make future traditions that reflect accurately on how we care for ourselves, our bodies, and one another. The way in which society operates at such a fast pace makes it almost impossible to take proper care of ourselves. Society needs to re-evaluate itself and make time for what is meaningful and promotes longevity. Traditions around wellness are necessary.

Treating ‘womens work’ as a valued part of society is something that we need when pulling away from capitalism. Appreciating the time and quality of products of the home that provide nurturing and comfort. The DIY culture is one that pushes these virtues.

Our institutions are set in the past that promote and perpetuate colonial/capitalism ideology. The ideology of our institutions value knowledge over wisdom.

As makers, I think it’s really important in the present moment to think about the future when working with mediums/materials. It’s my job to inherently promote the values that I appreciate in terms of sustainability. Working with materials that are biodegradable and leave no footprint is my part that I can take in how the future outcome directs itself.

These are some of my iPhone camera pictures that I captured during the photoshoot that I arranged with my friend Senna. If you look really close you can see her inside the bag. I have more official photos that I am going to make into a little series and post tomorrow with a reflection on the process. I was happy with the way the photos turned out. The original placement I had the bag in didn’t work due to the weight of the water. I wanted to be in the field and not in the trees so I was attempting to hold it up with driftwood that was planted in the ground, but the bag full of water pulled down the pieces of wood fairly quickly so I had to go to plan B. I had found a hollowed out log earlier on and lay in it thinking that it would be a sweet photo, however once the wood didn’t hold the bag up I resorted to using the log to support the weight of the water while my friend Senna lay inside. I like the contrast of the pink against the green grass and the yellow buttercup.

Some process shots.

I used charcoal on the waterproof canvas for the hands and the ‘universal mother’ figure on the back. Fluorescent pink gouache was used for the top and blue acrylic was used with a spray bottle to do the bottom. Overall I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I did batik with wax to try and make star like patterns but because I didn’t wash the bag or iron it afterwards (for fear of losing the waterproofness) the batik didn’t work super well.

I like the celestial feel that the bag has like clouds at sunrise. Working with the canvas was really nice, I didn’t realize that it was such an absorbant surface.

I’ve been experimenting with surface design techniques for my sensory deprivation bag. I want to achieve a celestial feel while also projecting my version of the akashic records. I have come to a conclusion that each human contains their own akashic record in the palm of their hand, with that being said I want to do hand prints but like the ones from the cave in Luscaux France, using some kind of spray and my hand as the resist.

Latest design, along with some idea’s I have for representing the akashic records......

Here is my plans for creating my sensory deprivation bag. My plans have changed a bit due to unforeseen natural disaster where I was planning to build my boat/tank. I’ve decided to make something more portable out of waterproof canvas instead. I’d like to try insulation so that it’s kind of like a hamock bath but large enough to hold my body. The canvas is arriving today so I’ll get going with this sewing project this week. I am now at moms house in Nelson where I have an industrial sewing machine in the basement that should be able to wraggle this canvas and put in a zipper for the lid ! I’ll keep posted with my progress, I’m happy with the direction that I’ve decided to go in. I am feeling more confident about completing the final product.

Future on Present

Birth, death, rebirth. A ferry for transformation, boat as a vessel for transformation.

A sensory deprivation tank has the capacity to cut off from the senses, through this lack of sensory information activated, it is possible to reflect inwards in a process of self-transformation. Mainly athletes, but also other successful people as well have used sensory deprivation tanks as a tool for visualization. This visualization technique of future projection has the capacity for visualizing and realizing success through mental recitation.

I want to create a sensory deprivation tank for the purpose of visualization of the future as well as for reflection into the past. In this sense the sensory deprivation tank would act like a ‘time-interrupting’ machine. The idea behind it is for transformation and change something similar to a re-birth/death and in this sense the vehicle for this is simultaneously vagina-like to represent the birth as well as canoe/boat/coffin-like shape to represent the death. This vessel for transformation would kind of be like a time-machine where the possibility to travel to the future and the past was possible at once in the same machine.

The ‘senses’ are what defines us as living, it’s through our senses that we create emotions and understand ourselves and those around us. The lack of senses would make it possible to detach from a physical and material experience and open up the possibility for a mystical experience to unfold.

As opposed to the boat being placed on the water, I find it an interesting and ironic contrast to have the water inside the boat creating almost like a bath - inverse to the normal uses of the boat and inherent in creating an environment. This liquid being inside the boat also represents the water that holds a child in utero, creating this womblike experience.

The way that I am planning to create this bath/boat is by making a canvas lining/sack that can be placed within a boat frame of some kind and filled to create a portable-like sac/bath.

The way that it would work is that it would be filled with just above body temperature water and salt. I would like to figure out a situation in order to maintain the water at a constant temperature.

Learning, Remembering, Believing : Enhancing Human Performance

This is a book about sensory deprivation tanks and the effects they can have on human performance.

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