Shallows, 2023. Single-channel video, 3min 33sec.
Artist statement for Aesthetics of Silence exhibition at Hazelhurst Arts Centre:
The lingering influence of traumatic events experienced in Australia accompanied me to a two-month residency in Japan last year. The state of my mental health culminated into a habit of ruminating the depths of the rivers and lakes that I came upon while exploring the streets and landmarks of the Kansai region. Eventually, for solace from the silence and recoil of solitude and mindfulness, I frequented a small jazz bar located near my residence in Kyoto. Inspired by concepts raised in Japanese Buddhism and the uninhibited sessions of improvised and looping instrumentals, this video work visualises a journey across shallow bodies of water along the Sanzu no Kawa, or River of Three Crossings, as one of the paths for souls to attain resurrection after death.