Reflecting

Hi folks,

I've written this as part of a proposal and thought I'd share it with you.

I have just been part of a very interesting art experience, by far the most breathtaking one in my life. In true fractal sense the outcome was unknown at the start, as it was a collaborative project that would take shape from our interactions as three visual artists and a sound installation artist. Experimentation sessions were often almost wordless as we explored visually, aurally and spatially, later in the process drawing together recurring concepts and imagery, and then excavating these themes further. Like an archaeological dig, we delved through the layers of our memories and histories, following the footsteps of fleeting archetypal themes, and developed an installation work that engaged all of the senses and drew upon our common embedded memories. The audience/viewers were invited in to this exploration as participants, and the experience for many of them was profound.

We are still trying to determine what it was what it was that galvanised us so deeply as a group, and made this such an engaging experience for the audience. There was a great deal of trust involved, between us as a group and between us and the audience/viewers. The works were deeply personal but not obviously so, only if you took the time to look deeper would you be taken deeper; they were metaphoric self portraits really, offering something of ourselves. Relationship and care were intrinsic to the project – we were present and available throughout the exhibition to talk; people were ushered into a dark space but given a torch and a map so that they could find their way; they were encouraged to explore intimate spaces such as a wardrobe and record their secrets there; they were given free hot drinks and a comfortable space to sit; they could touch the often fragile works and walk though them; they could write their thoughts and responses and add them to the artworks, they were invited in.

I remember

Time and places, have been the trigger to every fleeting moment of our bounded experience. As Goya, visualizes the time, as a giant eating his children at Saturn eats his own. Hamlet comes to confess that he wasted too much time and now time wasted him.

A moment of truth in our vast bounded human endeavours, would be enough to explode our fragile and weak nature as human. It is a consider of so marvelous and extensive scream through that deep rippled light of our solace. An untouched heavenly hunger of hunting the moments that had eat us away, only leaving the shadowy holes and from these, would be our tempting urge for forgiveness.

Any vast beat would only permits that memory to collapse within time but may never leave that smell of the private places which we collide.

Any of such places may not exist today, as we recreate again and every then, such places in a gleam and fantasy of wounder splashes, that kept hanging like ghosts to our celling.


It is the revenge of time and a incomparable ecstasy of the places which we inhibited.


As i remember, i shall only live again and again through these moments of time, smelling the each coroner that my momentary elapsed.

As i remember, my being would melt and shall be laminated again to the every live human existence.

Magdy Shiha
Australia 2010

Hi friends,

Thanks for a quality reflective time on Saturday, good to unearth even more layers, and as Magdy said, there is "yet more light to bring", and thanks to Dave who will hopefully be joining us soon on the blog. I so appreciate the opportunity of working with such a wonderful bunch of people, thank so much!

I came across this gem from Leunig. Dismayed by political advertising he went to the Melbourne Art Fair for some solace, only to find that "art made with the genius of love is as rare as ever." A great read, there are some insights in there in true Leunig style. May we too make art with love!

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-small-glow-in-the-dark-20100813-122c0.html