Category: Installations

In all ancient civilization we know the map to spiritual transformation- begin in the body. The female body has been praised to, worshipped, raped, idolized. It has been painted, photographed, adored and ignored. It has been used as a vehicle for agenda’s and imaginations that were not our own. Our bodies have been subject, slave, muse or wombs and vessels of other life, but rarely have we birthed ourselves. Creating a self portrait or creating art that is rooted in the personal is an act of self love yes, but it is also defiance. It’s a way of turning the gaze inwards and being seen by oneself. It is a radical affirmation of knowing and owning ourselves. This is a slow burning series that I have developed over the years- of transforming my own body into a site of (self) worship following the lineage of Bhakti poets like Akka Mahadevi and Andal who turned to the female form as a sacred site. I also draw from the ceremonial and ritualistic traditions of my land(s) that see costume as being an invocation and invitation to the divine into the vessel of our body. What we worship, we shall become

Wearable Shrines 
2012-Present

Pulse and bloom uses pulse sensors and light to create visible luminous experiences of union.
Put your hand on a flower and see your (own) heartbeat visualised.
Place a lovers hand beside you and breathe until you merge as one.
Here’s the beautiful thing about human connection, it’s both visible and invisible. a (precious) thing with secret passages that lead from the eyes to the heart.
mystics proclaimed it first. the lovers knew it best- we find mirrors in each other (again and again and again)

Pulse and Bloom is based on studies that prove- when two people spend enough time with each other, looking into each other’s eyes, and breathing (beating.being) with each other- their hearts begin to beat in time like fireflies pulsing in patterns.
Biosynchronicity (let’s call it).

Pulse and Bloom received the Burning Man Honorarium Art Grant in 2014 and has been featured in a host of international press (BBC, NBC, TechCrunch, The Guardian and more)

It’s exhibited in festivals around the world from the Southbank Centre in London (2015) to NH7 Weekender, India (2015) Adobe Max, San Diego (2017) and NEXT/NOW, Maryland (2017) amongst others.

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Lead Artist
Burning Man 2014

Visualized as a grove of beautiful low hanging trees- “Grove” is an interactive art installation that uses breath sensors to create a meditative and immersive experience. A reflection on the interdependence of breath, grove uses biofeedback sensors to make our invisible world visible through technology.

The installation reminds us that we are constantly in union with the natural world. Sit beneath a tree, in an oasis of LED lights, and a mechanical flower with proximity sensors opens up. As you take a deep breath in to take in the fragrance of the flower, you empty the tree of light. And as you breathe out, you fill the tree with the light of your breath, reminding us of our symbiotic relationship with the natural world. Breathing becomes the thread that connects all things.

Everytime you breathe in, you breathe the “outbreath” of a forest. We are interconnected and oxygenated because of nature.

Our work comes out of research examining biosynchronization, lots of studies show that the breath rates of teachers teaching a class and their students, or lovers and close family members often sync up when in an intimate environment. Upon receiving feedback from the tree, the participants will also consciously start to breathe together, making the grove brighter and illuminated.

Lead Artist
Burning Man 2016

Tidal is a ‘geofeedback’ installation that bridges the gap between waterbodies outside and inside us.

Walk into this dome, and find yourself underneath a suspended storm of metal and fabric clouds, illuminated with hundreds of LEDs.

In the center of the bridge stands a bowl full of clear water, reacting gently to the flow of the river. the lights within the installation mimic the motion of the river in realtime, pulling from tidal data and creating an enchanting sense of union to the watercycle, but trace your fingers inside the bowl of water, and watch as you start to stir up a storm, as the led’s react to the flow of water created by your movement.

Pittsburgh
2015