Day of the stop-motion/ time-lapse shoot in a gorgeous little copse at the back of the house....and the day of the meeting to discuss our ideas for the groups of the Neighbours.
In the morning reading with my feet propped up against a tree.... enjoying the tranquility of feeling the movement of the tree, as if it was breathing.... calmed by the whispers of the breeze through the leaves.
Based in the same spot for the afternoon I got to know the garden a little more in depth as I collected more fallen petals, leaves, and pebbles and shot photo and photo to create a 'dance' with them that perhaps is another interpretation of how we organise ourselves and interact in groups.
Enjoying too the peace of the solitary moments and the fascinating conversations as folk passed through the copse and stopped off to chat. Some of their movement also captured by the camera which was positioned to catch some of the distant background.
Reflecting on processes and the importance of leaving oneself enough solitary time for refelctiona nd contemplation, playing with images until metaphors bring us communication and knowledge from the subconscious that at the beginning of the process we didn't even know we were looking for! Reminding me a lot of Native America "vision quests" and taking me back to stories from the brilliant book The Journey by Tom Brown that found me on my own journey back in Central America in 2010.
Interesting to note the similarities in motivation in the two very different processes that Felipe and I were using this afternoon - Felipe's performance piece carrying an uprooted plant around in his left hand for so many hours that he was incredibly uncomfortable, and my animation experiment where moving many pieces tiny-bit-by-tiny-bit that also took many hours (but was comfortable and relaxing!)
Reflecting on how at the point of anything new (when we don't know what will happen or how it will be realised) that we have to have faith that our processed will lead us to a point of creation and experience that makes sense.. and this can be in person processes (taking me back to the chat with Katia about life paths), projects or work, or communal processes like this one that we are in the midst of on the residency here at Villa Alegre. As a group we began with a specific intention in mind - to collaborate with the neighbourhood groups in a way that they will experience as beneficial - but with no idea about how that will actually happen. And then as the days pass we are feeling more and more the development and sense of this process (and I am hugely impressed by Jorge and Ilze's organisation and layout of our days, with plenty input, plenty time for contemplation and conversations, and loads of time for reflection and chat.
During our meeting it was particularly interesting to note the points of disagreement about our approach to the art projects we are proposing to initiate with the neighbours. From the disagreements personal and group opinions are reinforced and made more clear.
For me the two most important points are:
1. the tone in how we present ourselves, that whatever we do collectively is felt by the neighbours as an invitation to participate or think newly on a familiar subject (such as the wall of the community in la Villa where our group feels that they are overly paranoid as a community and want to isolate themselves more, rather than passing any judgement, the idea is to create a volleyball game using the existing wall as the 'net' to highlight the oddity of the division it causes in the community and to offer a new way of thinking about something familiar.)
2. The continuity of the project- that whatever we do in these days is something that will be useful to the communities longer-term (such as the proposal to demonstrate a method of collecting local history from individuals in the community so that they can continue to do so into the future).
In terms of personal stuff I've occasionally been feeling frustrated with my level of Spanish, and feeling a bit guilty when it seems to perhaps interrupt a little the flow of a debate, but on the other hand, all the folk here are very patient and I am grateful and happy to be able to participate in such a stimulating group of artists and deep-thinkers.
Oh yes, and the best moment of the day (that had me giggling aloud) was when I was clearing up some plates after eating cake and the tribe of tiny puppies were jumping all over one another to lick my fingers clean! How sweet :-)
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