Where do you need a visual reminder to pause, that will raise your spirits? It’s scientifically proven after all…
It has been a fascinating few weeks at university this summer - postgraduate students don't take a break during the summer months at NUA - the studios and workshops remain open and your are either working flat out on your final submission, or like me who is in the first year of a part time MA, it’s an opportunity to work with artists from other disciplines on the Collaborative Challenge - a unit that requires collaborative working over approximately two months on a project of your choice - but it must align with one or more UN Sustainability Goals. As you can probably imagine forming a group and then deciding on a project are both far from simple and after a couple of false starts, I found myself working with 5 fine artists on a project with the theme of ‘Time’ and perhaps, most excitingly, we were going to be working with world class state-of-the-art technology - the Immersive and Visual Simulation Lab described on the uni website as ‘… designed to explore, develop, and commercialise next-generation immersive media and virtual production technologies. Purpose-built to support experimentation and cross-industry innovation, the facility is a unique resource for creators, technologists, researchers, and businesses alike.’ It sounded like fun!
And it was - the space is a full 360 degree 10m diameter circle of screens that provides an immersive filmic experience with sound. The faculty has a 360 degree camera which we had planned our initial collaboration around - coordinating filming on location as a group - unfortunately there was a problem with the camera and we were unable to use it - so a rethink - we were able to shoot our own films on our phones and then offer these up for compilation by the genius technician who conjured them onto the surround screen. That’s the simple version - though - lots of to-ing and fro-ing to get to this point, lots of technical glitches to overcome and along the way I had to support the group to learn how to use Adobe Rush to edit our films - we also had a little stint in a recording studio which was rather amusing!
So what did we create? A 12 minute film made up of 6 short investigations into Time, all glued together by a metronome ticking at 60 beats per minute. We each conveyed our own messages on how time is running out for the implementation of the UN Sustainability Goals.
My work centred as ever on Nature and I wanted to create a piece of film that provided respite from stress and trauma, work that could improve wellbeing whilst at the same time draw our attention to nature and how precious it is. Along the way I discovered the fascinating details of the Ecuadorian rainforest that was granted its own personhood so that it could benefit from the same legal rights as a person - the idea that nature needs to be seen not just as something that exists to provide us with food, space, air, etc, but seen in its own right, irrespective of humans and their needs; nature has its own rights and needs, too. I then looked at Eskhart Tolle and his thoughts about what we can learn from nature - he also considers how we need to separate our thoughts on nature from the way we use it - we need to be with it in a way that goes beyond a commodity to be used, only then can we truly connect with ‘its aliveness, its beingness’. To me, these ideas emphasise how important it is to engage with and cultivate the sense of awe that we can find in nature - the sculptor Henry Moore often referred to his fascination with Nature and how it fed his inspiration - I think this quote really captures why and it’s one I always shared with my students when we studied his work in school:
“There is an infinite amount to be seen and enjoyed in the world - the texture of bark on trees, the shape of a shell, a nut, a plum, a pear, a tadpole, a mushroom, a mountain peak, a cloud, a kidney, a carrot, a tree trunk, a bird, a bull, a lark, a ladybird, a bulrush, a bone. Everything you think of has its own individual, unified idea of form.
For me, everything in the world of form is understood through our own bodies. From our mother’s breast, from our bones, from bumping into things we learn what is rough and what is smooth. To observe, to understand, to experience the vast variety of space, shape and form in the world, twenty lifetimes would not be enough. There is no end to it.”
(Levine 1978)
It is this sense of wonder and being continually open to seeing what is there to be discovered that keeps me focussed on nature as a subject matter for my art; it has been really interesting to look beyond that and explore how we can look at nature in different ways. Fundamentally, for me I know that being in nature helps my wellbeing and my focus so I also wanted to explore the scientific context around this. Looking at design theory I discovered the concept of Biophilia - the innate biological connection between people and nature - a term coined in 1964 by Erich Fromm. The exploration of this idea produced a set of principles, used in architectural, interior and urban design called the 15 Patterns of Biophilic Design (Browning & Ryan 2021). There are four that resonate so strongly with the work I do and the work I was seeking to create for the immersive film experience:
Visual connection with nature - this has a direct physiological impact, positive effects on cognitive functioning and lifts emotions in a number of ways,
Dynamic and diffuse light - giving a positive impact on the circadian system, improvement in cognitive and behavioural performance and has the effect of increasing happiness.
Biomorphic forms and patterns - proven to aid recovery from stress, and also to improve learning outcomes.
Awe - actively reduces stress and increases pro-social behaviour.
It is exciting to know that something that you feel intuitively is actually a proven fact and that I am heading in the right direction with my work - I have always believed in the power of art to restore us and coined the phrase ‘aesthetic escapism’ to describe this aspect of my art way back in the early 90’s - it's deeply ingrained into who I am and how I see the world around me. Being able to put science and a UN Sustainability goal behind my work gives me impetus and validation to continue to find ways to bring nature into the home through art and design.
It made perfect sense then to create a 3 minute film of the trees in my woodland and garden that I breathe in every day, providing me with peaceful and uplifting distraction - using the camera inside the tree canopy, as well as outside of it, I captured the sweeping fronds of the willow tree majestically dancing in the wind, the shimmering leaves of my disco tree (an aspen) fluttering in the breeze and the sun filtering through oaks, birch trees and lime trees. With an emphasis on the play of light - dynamic and diffused - sun flares created by the sun hitting the inside of the camera lens added power and focus to the images. It would have been so exciting to have filmed this in 360’ but with the camera out of action I simply used my iphone and edited everything on Adobe Rush to produce beautiful soft, melting transitions and overlays. Our wonderful technician then repeated this film 4 times around the circle of screens to fill the space with tree canopies… and the effect really was rather wonderful. I had lots of great feedback from the group and tutor and look forward to having a formal showing of the film in the Autumn.
It was a joy to work as a collaborative group - the wonderful sharing of research, so many fascinating explorations into new contexts and ideas, and new friendship forged - I have always loved working in a team with a common goal to achieve, especially a creative one, and it was really great to have that opportunity here.
Next steps - more ideas about immersive works, digital and analogue - for the moment it’s giant and spontaneous sketches in the wood to capture those ever changing shadows and dappled-light dances. I am also looking back at the dappled light work I have in my studio - some large mixed media canvases - and reacquainting myself with the magic of those.
***As a thank you to you for taking the time to read my musings, here’s a 30% discount on paintings and prints in my online studio shop. Offer ends 20th August 2025*** Use the code ESCAPE30 - this is the perfect opportunity to bring the benefits of biophilic principles into your home or office space - where do you most need the impetus to pause, slow down your heartbeat, uplift your mood or feel lost in wonder?
Nature Inside: A Biophilic Design Guide, Browning & Ryan 2021
With Henry Moore: Artist at Work, Levine 1978