Light and mindfulness in the jungle at Castellani House

(L - Extract of projection on Petroglyph 1 by Maharanie Jhillu, R  - Detail from Into the Jungle by Chris Bissessar (artists' hand) )

Light

"What do you think about it?" asked Akash Bridgemohan - Project Coordinator and Engineer of Immersion:Into the Jungle  ,

We were in the dark room, place hot. 

He had played the video which resulted in light dancing along the frames and lines of the three pictures on the wall, and images on the box and in the frame.

The pencil drawing of a jaguar turned into different colours. Blue light moved on the petroglyph, eyes following.

There was audio which I did not hear the first time, because eyes on the light.

I did not know what to expect. There were brown curtains on the door, and this jute rope saying 'no entry'.

Akash Bridgemohan explained the process of projection mapping and the details of the work involved.

And asked for feedback. 

This kind of accountability, and interaction is precious now.

A man had sent me the Stabroek News editorial  the morning of the blue light on the petroglyph about the fear of retribution when speaking up now in Guyana.

And the fear filtering down to the experiences of those who were scared to help the  man who was screaming for help when a man he knew was stabbing him.  That day though, Universe was kind, and a woman shared free hugs, books and plants  with strangers to challenge the disconnection.

So the simple question, challenging some of the trends in public life in Guyana. I was not sure what to say, that I wished it was slower, or longer so that I could enjoy more. Or that I appreciated that the immersion: Into the jungle included this kind of interaction with the creatives.

Another light in the dark room.

Mindfulness

The last time I had visited an exhibition a second time intentionally was in 2018.   I had gone back after reading the curator notes and realised that I missed a few things. 

This time I come back, to look back at details and check out the projection mapping and the AR pieces which had been added since the first visit.

World Meditation Day and the Winter Solstice. Mind full of different things, and body storing some of them as pain. I limped to the exhibition.

I hear the sounds of the parrots and other birds around the Botanical Gardens and zoo. Hearing those sounds while watching paintings of some of them.  I can't remember hearing the birds the first time. There is this Yoga Nidra practice which says to open your ears to every sound and follow it.. a way of being a part of the world while being apart from it

And so listening to birds , the traffic noise which was faint, and overhearing conversations where the people talking about how people can't focus for long and the short attention span.

The gallery attendant saw me looking closely at a painting of a jaguar which might have been a river and went to call the artist, Chris Bissessar.

We talk about the paintings.. the water drops around the golden jaguar like the river, the pink dolphins, the flowers in this kind of garden scene where there is a flash above which hint at the danger; the fish hoarding pearls;, the green turtles which look brown, the macaws swirling, the opening to the jungle at dawn.

I had missed some colours the first time round - blues, purples, oranges. 

Chris Bissessar highlighted some figures , and other elements, like the play of light in each of the paintings. Something about being mindful and present in the jungle and seeing everything or most things and probably discovering other things.

Last time we learned the word Komorebi, the way light is in the forest. 

Chris Bissessar's painting Into the Jungle, imagines the sun rising, light forming, making it easier to understand what is around, before immersion and interaction.  All of this in my mind as I think of the interaction in the dark room and that maybe we could create light as ways of seeing and revealing which have nothing to do with bright bulbs.

What is the kind of light then we want we move into the jungle of 2025?

(The exhibition continues until 4 Jan, 2025. Check the social media pages for details of opening over the holidays. The organising team are Maharanie Jhillu  - Lead Project Coordinator & Artistic Director, Akash Bridgemohan - Project Coordinator and Engineer; and Pekahiah James, the Curator. )