Every morning before I open my shutters small circles of light decorate my room - their position and definition depends on the time of morning and amount of sunlightI currently have around a year's worth of images documenting this light Playing with the morning light in my bedroomMandarin peel under the microscope Saliva under the microscopeI collected many of these cards from my Grandma who was religious and despite not being religious myself I have always loved looking at and collecting the prayer/holy cards. I love the layout, pocket/playing card size and the blues, reds, greens and browns that typically depict devotional pictures of saints or scenesPlaying with light and shadowTree hug documentation - writing down my experiences after hugging the big gum trees at my local parkAfter completing a Reiki practitioner course, I learnt about the practice of a 'Reiki Box' - where you get or make any type of container (I just reused cardboard and stuck it together with tape - a very quick process) and place inside any written intentions, images or particular situation you want to focus energy on. Insects under the microscopeCollage #3We had a house party and used foil to decorate the walls - we wanted to play with light and transform the living room. We completely forgot to consider that foil is an insulator and the room got so warm while everyone was dancingBox arrangement class at Nicolai Bergmann School of Floristry in Tokyo, Japan. We didn't realise the entire workshop was going to be taught in Japanese - the process was so fun just observing and interpreting the stepsPlayingThe reception centre in the street I grew up in was recently sold, becoming a private residence. I grew up walking past seeing glimpses of different wedding ceremonies and events taking place. If it was up to me, I would love to turn the house and land into a not-for profit arts organisations, a mixed use precinct with cafes, studio spaces, music events, etc, a place of cultural production, something lacking in the City of Maribyrnong. Using Collingwood Yards and the Abbotsford Convent as examplesAgain, I found myself working another job that didn't align to me as a way to make enough money to then move overseas in search of more opportunities. I have documented the process most days, filming myself and taking notes - I am unsure if I would ever use any of these observations or what I would do with them. In this factory and warehouse environment it is loud and dusty and the work is very strenuous and repetitive. It made me think about how the break spaces seem to be added in as an after thought. Why isn't there a separate space for lunch breaks that creates contrast against the harsh, industrial machinery, why isn't it filled with greenery, comfortable seating, a place to stretch and move, sound proofed, etc?During the Hypnotherapy course I completed, the awareness of the position of our memories and thoughts in space was brought to my attention. When you start to think about where your memories and thoughts are positioned within your awareness, you start to notice that memories from yesterday may appear closer to your forehead or you may notice that memories appear in a spiral form, or distant memories appear further back, or future plans appear on a particular side towards the front, etc. I also enjoy observing what angle a memory is being recalled at, depending on age, attachment, clarity of memory - is it at a low angle, birds eye, third person, first person perspective, close up, etcAutomatic creation #1Playing on the tramAutomatic creation #2Backyard interventionIndented Head beach, Victoria, AustraliaOver the years I have really enjoyed and benefitted from the Tibetan Buddhist practice, Tonglen, meaning giving and taking. I have always liked the contrast in the Tonglen meditations, particularly DavidJi's:
"breath in stillness, exhale turbulence
lightness, let go of heaviness
breath in soothing, and release pain
breath in surrender and let go of resistance
breath in acceptance and let go of judgement
breath in forgiveness and let go of grievance
breath in tolerance and let go of anger
breath in expansion, let go of constriction
breath in clarity, let go of confusion
breath in peace, and release conflict
breath in wholeness and let go of separation
breath in compassion and let go of sadness
breath in joy and let go of suffering
breath in ease and let go of struggle
breath in flow and release effort
breath in love and let go of fear
breath in love and release love back out"When my Grandmother passed away - she was positioned in her coffin with her hand placed over her stomach holding three of her favourite saint’s holy cards Spaces made from sand ChangeAutomatic creation #2Playing with light The laying of hands/Reiki on your heart or any body part at any moment you feel you need support is such a soothing, grounding, connected and warming practice. I really believe this intuitive and innate practice should be taught and encouraged in kindergartens, schools, universities, workplaces, etc - to teach people how to comfort themselves, take a moment and practice self compassionDrawing #1Earth sample #2 - polymer clay, paint, paper, plastic, dirt, rocks and inkPlaying with light and shadowSand facesWhile reading I learnt that when our visual field narrows, focusing on a specific target or negative experience it is associated with our flight or fight response versus a wide, panoramic vision which encourages an expansive, open and relaxed state. How can we use this information in our public spaces ? Is it useful?There is the 3:1 positive-to-negative feedback ratio theory- where for every 1 negative comment, 3 positive comments follow. Why is this ratio not used in the media, for world or local news, print or digital ? I know I would definitely want to watch or listen to the news more often if I knew it wasn't just fear based and we got to hear about our common humanity and the good nature of peopleWhen my Grandma's house was in the process of being sold and cleared out, hundreds of receipts, bills and documents were found - an accumulation of paper for over 30 years. I was able to keep some, with the intention to repurpose and alter them. Playing with light and waterAs stress and inflammation quietly consumed my body over a few years, I continued to push down these feelings and signs until the warning signals became large, consistent and prominent pimples on my face, a bright red colour I could not ignore. I began documenting the changes happening on my once very clear and non-acne prone face, as a way to monitor, understand and notice changes within my body and stress levels. Through writing, reading, listening, photographs and drawing I began to learnMost days I write down at least 1 idea on a scrap piece of paper no matter where I am. It can be anything - an idea for a space, installation, project, research topic, an observation, an experience, changes I would like to see, etc. I then add the piece of paper to a folder and then later it gets pasted into my notebookI began writing down and photographing objects being used but not for their intended purpose. These scenes I see along my walks or witness in domestic and public settings. I enjoy the comical, resourceful and creative ways people quickly figure out how to reuse something. This is an ongoing series and documentation process, with the intention to figure out how to compile these images - maybe in a way that was not for its original use. I also love observing how people do this with public spaces and built environmentsI worked in retail for 4 years - I left each shift with sore eyes, pounding head, ringing ears and itchy skin, a result of the saturated light, repetitive loud pop music, brightly coloured clothes, the wrong choice of materials for displays, too many small spaces that collected dust and unbalanced store layout and placement, and of course difficult, high emotion customer situations. This experience sparked my inquiry into if and how curated sound could leave a residue of ease on the physical objects and walls that never leave the space and subtly influence the customer's attitude. I find that listening to certain frequencies can really encourage a sequential, clear and quiet thought pattern within me, so if curated frequencies such as 432HZ, which inspires love, compassion and transcending of the ego, were played, could this adjust the experience ? I am not sure. It is something I would like to experiment withInspired by the Boyle family, I recreated earth samples, basing it off an image I had taken at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia. Using repurposed paper, fabric, thread, leaves, dirt, rocks and sandInterventions in the backyardOver the past few years I have read work by Dr Gabor Mate, Dr Kristen Neff, Jack Kornfield, Dr Joe Dispenza, books on Buddhism, the body, neuroscience, practices including Vipassana, loving kindness meditation and many more. I have begun to truely understand and continue to learn the power of noticing and labelling thoughts, emotions and sensations as they arise and then applying compassion and gentle skepticism to inquire further, unpacking why you are thinking and feeling in this way
Idea for a compactible lampBox arrangement at Nicolai Bergmann School of Floristry, Tokyo, JapanWhen I was working in the city and would walk down Little Lonsdale street to get to work, I often thought about how the street could be re-designed. The street is pedestrian heavy, as the zebra crossing in the middle connects the Melbourne Central shopping centre buildings and is a one way road for cars which have to wait for crowds of people to cross. Melbourne Central has minimal cafes, minimal seating for people to rest during breaks and limited engaging spaces to hang out. It would be interesting to see how this section could be turned into a no through road, somehow incorporating cafes, places to sit, greenery, etc, creating a more comfortable and vibrant atmosphereBall found in the backyardSunspot documenting experiments My Grandma has the early stages of dementia, Parkinson's disease and the long term effects of her stroke. She has lost her independence and the ability to do the things she loves, in particular being outside and in the garden. Over the past 2 years I have taken photos of veggie patches, community gardens, fruits, vegetables and animals. I started researching colour and attention with dementia patients and found that black and white imagery tends to help with focusing. I have had multiple attempts on a book design that did not work out how I intended and am still in the process of continuing to experiment with size, layout and texture. Collage #1The day after a storm there were so many sea balls washed up onto the beach. I placed them into the bay, creating a moving and temporary installationCollage #2During covid I was exploring this idea of a collective consciousness, what, how and where could people gather and what would it look like if we directed our energy towards the same goal - helping each other and our planet. I created a zine to help communicate and explore this idea, just barely scraping the surface. Fast forward to the present day, I have read a range of different books, such as 'Morphic resonance: the nature of formative causation' by Rupert Sheldrake, Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman, which have helped unpack this inquiry even further and allowed me to release this initial idea needs to be reworkedWhen my Grandma was in her last few months, her skin and body were very susceptible and malleable. She had dark patches and indentations on her arms - there were many changes happeningThis idea of holding two perspectives at once has continued to come up in the books I have read. I cannot escape the synchronicities and overlaps in these very different areas of study, from design to science, education to magic and healing to architecture. The neuroscientist Dr Caroline Leaf talks about a directed neuroplasticity practice called The Multiple Perspective Advantage (MPA). It means standing back and observing your own thinking. The foundation of the MPA is the quantum principle of super-position which is the ability to focus on incoming information: the external and the internal. She talks about the ability to train yourself to analyse this information in as objective way possible before you choose what to believe, what to reject and what decisions to make. Tado Ando, the Japanese architect, first begins a project with reading a written interpretation of the place where the building is being planned - stepping into the perspective of the landsscape. Similarly, Hilde Bouchez, a professor, author and interior architect explains that at the beginning of the year for a master’s in design and architecture, she gives her students an assignment that involves writing two pieces, one from a rational perspective, where a description of the space is expected and one from an emotional perspective, like a love letter, where the atmosphere and mood of the space is described. Or David Abrams who in his book 'The spell of the sensuous' divides his inquiries into 'a personal introduction to the inquiry' and 'a technical introduction to the inquiry'. These are just a few of the examplesI completed a course in Australian Bush Flower essences - learning about the different native wild flowers and their healing properties. I believe this understanding and collaboration of knowledge is important to incorporate when designing outdoor spacesPlaying with reflectionsWhile travelling, I seem to keep most of the receipts because it feels so wasteful throwing out so much paper. They end up becoming small canvases
After every trip and memorable event I end up collecting a pile of tickets, brouchures, wrist bands and papers - all these small artefacts from different experiences. I never know what to do with them and don't want to throw them out. A few years ago when I was looking back at past photos from my time studying in Milan in 2019, I came across a rain jacket that was on display at an exhibition during fashion week. This jacket was made out of clear plastic with white thread outlining small geometric squares, in each square there was a different circular branded, what looks to be either a drink seal or card. This inspired me to begin my own interpretation of this idea. I have begun to cut a circle from each artefact, place it in between two sheets of clear plastic and sew a square around it. This is an ongoing processChange
After reading Carlo Rovelli's book 'The order of time', it moved something in me and inspired me to observe how I perceive and understand time. I tended to view aspects of time as segmented, geometric structures along a linear timeline, as if they were wooden building blocks being stacked neatly next to each other. For the week I was viewing it like a thin string/thread with each day represented by less defined smaller blocks. Upon reflection, this instilled disappointment when milestones weren’t met and failures and mistakes were made because it subconsciously threw a block out of order. The block's stiffness, sturdiness and lack of fluidity doesn’t make room for change or disorder. It caused panic and constant rumination about my age, the order of time in my life and the expected timeline. Now thinking about time as circular and positioning myself in time, on a point, on the circle - there’s ups and downs, highs and lows, but there is always a circulatory, a continuous movement, there is always expansion and growth.
A circle doesn’t have an end, anything can happen at any moment and it’s okay because there’s the next curve. It views mistakes and failures as just points on the circle, moments in time, moments of suffering, moments of fun, joy, ease, sadness, and not rigid, unforgiving blocks. Circularity has changed my perspective
This extremely repetitive, robotic job has allowed me to listen and learn from a wide range of books and podcasts. The contrast of working in a stagnant environment and learning information that feels expansive and open is a very interesting experience