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PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Damian Collins
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Technology and the Digital Economy) at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
UK Government
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Claudio Araya
Undersecretary of Telecommunications
Undersecretariat of Telecommunications
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Behzad AHMADI
Deputy Minister and Head of Center of International relations of Information and Communication
Ministry of Information and Communications Technology
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Dr Mr Chris Baryomunsi
Minister of ICT and National Guidance
Uganda Communications Commission
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Michel Chebat
Minister
Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics & E-Governance
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
Mr Dan Sjöblom
Director-General
Swedish Post and Telecom Authority
Bucharest, Romania
28th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Ms Paula Ingabire
Minister
Ministry of ICT and Innovation
Bucharest, Romania
26 September 2022
©ITU/D.Woldu
Taken by pro photographer Mr. Paul Duane, at the "Burning Man" festival. Tickets for the 2014 festival sold out in 44 minutes.
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Darsanand Balgobin
Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation
Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Timothy Masiu
Minister of Communication and Information Technology
National Information & Communications Technology Authority (NICTA)
Bucharest, Romania
27 September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
Mr Oscar George
Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Telecommunications and Broadcasting
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Zenebe Kebede Korcho
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the UN Office at Geneva & Other International Organisations in Switzerland & Vienna
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Gospel KAZAKO
Minister
Ministry of Information and Digitalization
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano delivers his introductory statement at the 1383rd Board of Governors Meeting. IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria, 15 September 2014.
Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA
Policy Statements - ITU PP-18
H.E. Ms Lily Akol, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Postal Services, South Sudan
©ITU/P.Barrera
PP22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Ms Paula Ingabire
Minister
Ministry of ICT and Innovation
Bucharest, Romania
26 September 2022
©ITU/D.Woldu
PP-22 - Policy Statements
Mr Konris Maynard
Minister of Information and Communication Technologies
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
PP-22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Askhat Orazbek
Vice-Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Bucharest, Romania
28th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
Be the movement, "Because our paths and our minds must be cleared of barriers."
track and field athlete is part of #MapMyDay on Dec. 3!
And you?
Be part of #MapMyDay on Dec. 3 and mark the places around you on www.wheelmap.org
Join the movement!
// deutsch
Mach mit beim #MapMyDay am 3.12. und markiere Orte in deiner Umgebung mit www.wheelmap.org
Sei Teil der weltweiten Bewegung! www.mapmyday.org
The heads of the international delegations made statements about the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. This was done in a round table setting.
Watch the entire high level plenary session: youtu.be/J8APAkq4LlY
Read the speech by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra at the round table: www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/...
Watch the REAIM 2023 aftermovie: youtu.be/dSZ48joIXJ0
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Martijn Beekman
These are some more shots of my Tour to Europe in Sept - Nov 2012. I has been a while since I last saw them.. great to be able to catch up on them at last!
Just arrived in Valencia on our Cosmos tour, October 15, 2012.
On a tour of the City of Arts and Sciences. It is an entertainment-based cultural and architectural complex in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the most important modern tourist destination in the city of Valencia.
The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river Turia, which was drained and rerouted after a catastrophic flood in 1957. The old riverbed was turned into a picturesque sunken park.
Designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project underwent the first stages of construction in July 1996 and the finished "city" was inaugurated April 16, 1998 with the opening of L'Hemisfèric. The last great component of the City of Arts and Sciences, El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, was presented on October 9, 2005, Valencian Community Day.
For More Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Arts_and_Sciences
The heads of the international delegations made statements about the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. This was done in a round table setting.
Watch the entire high level plenary session: youtu.be/J8APAkq4LlY
Read the speech by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra at the round table: www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/...
Watch the REAIM 2023 aftermovie: youtu.be/dSZ48joIXJ0
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Martijn Beekman
PP-22 - Policy Statements
H.E. Mr Sumbue ANTAS
Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations, Geneva, WTO and to the Swiss Confederation
Bucharest, Romania
30th September 2022
©ITU/Rowan Farrell
The heads of the international delegations made statements about the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. This was done in a round table setting.
Watch the entire high level plenary session: youtu.be/J8APAkq4LlY
Read the speech by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra at the round table: www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/...
Watch the REAIM 2023 aftermovie: youtu.be/dSZ48joIXJ0
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Martijn Beekman
To my Darkness and my Light,
I unfold myself; you, in turn, call to me with your warm and aching mouth— its tongue, a delicate command I will not long withstand.
Your lips spill sighs; I drink until your thirst is sated.
Trembling hands steady me beneath you. You guide me toward your deepest acceptance. I find a center in you; you grasp me and gasp.
(You shudder— hands bracing the afternoon light dying against such white walls. I see with the eye of god your ineffable Beauty. I fall and place this feeble kiss to caress the spine of your neck as I pass.)
With you I experience annihilations most will never know.
After I am restless; you know that what I want is what I will never manage alone— you coax from my every ending its next beginning.
We must map these new and nameless oblivions together.
2008
Silver gelatin print
Artist's Statement: "Making this camel helped to absorb my feelings of frustration, anger, and helplessness from the spring of 2003 (when the U.S. officially entered into war with Iraq) until I completed it, in January 2009 as glimmers of hope arrived with the inauguration of a new administration. As a girl growing up in the 1950s, my imagination was captured by what we now call the Middle East. Oil and Religion were not part of my daydreams. I fancied life as a Desert Nomad—traveling with a camel caravan on my spirited Arab stallion—enduring blistering heat, blinding sandstorms, and broken-promise mirages... Just in the nick of time, an Oasis would appear! Shaded by date palms, and offering cool water, the sweet song of birds, and the pungent aroma of exotic spices, I would rest in my spacious tent—resplendent with richly patterned rugs and ornaments of gold..."
webP3170017. see www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/watch/1726824003663
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The 74” Telescope and Coude Spectrograph
– prior to January 2003
The structure was built in 1953, and the installation of
the telescope was completed in 1956. The technology
of the large standing ruin of the large 74 inch telescope,
the Coude Spectrograph building, reflects the
importance given to science in the 1950s. Experiments
in Astrophysics and Astroseismology were carried out.
Manufactured by Grubb Parsons the 74” Reflector
telescope has contributed to optical astronomy in
Australia, and was used extensively throughout the
1950s, 60s and 70s. The telescope, during this time
was considered the ‘work horse’ of the observatory.
74” telescope and Building, 1957 (NAA)
The 74” Telescope Coude Spectrograph
– post January 2003
The remains of the telescope building, the masonry
walls and the dome, although having sustained damage
in the fires, retain high significance. The dome is a
surviving element within the landscape, contributing to
the understanding of the important aesthetic setting of
the group of telescopes which were once dotted along
the North West side of the ridge of Mount Stromlo. The
telescope was destroyed in the fires and cannot be
repaired. For the telescope to continue to operate on
the site it would have to be replaced.
from heritage.anu.edu.au/__documents/heritage-management/herit...
www.cmd.act.gov.au/functions/publications/archived/mcleod...
The Inquiry into the Operational Response to the January 2003 Bushfires.
Inquiry headed by Mr Ron McLeod.
8. Concluding remarks
(An attempt to answer an important question and some brief final remarks)
Damage at present impossible of estimation was caused in the Federal Capital Territory during the weekend by bush fires which raged over a total front of 45 miles along the Murrumbidgee, and crossed it at several points close to Canberra on Saturday afternoon. It was the worst fire in the recollection of district settlers … Although more than 500 volunteers from Canberra, Queanbeyan and Captain’s Flat fought desperately against the fires on a dozen fronts on Saturday, they had no hope of checking it against the fierce wind, which carried the flames along gullies and depressions at amazing speed … Burning tinder was carried five and six miles by the wind before being dropped to start fresh outbreaks in the dry grass and trees. Burning leaves from Uriarra fell on Parliament House at 11am on Saturday.
—Canberra Times Monday 16 January 1939
Were these fires unique?
A number of comments in the media, and in some submissions to the Inquiry, described the January 2003 bushfires as unique or unprecedented. It is necessary to examine this proposition because a judgment about the authorities’ performance in responding to the fires is influenced by knowledge of the nature of the threat they perceived to exist.
Bushfires are a natural part of the Australian environment, particularly in the south-east of the country. They vary in intensity according to climatic conditions (for example, drought, temperature, humidity and wind) and the nature and volume of the available fuel (vegetation essentially). Their rate of spread can also be influenced by topography.
There appears to be some substance behind the proposition that the longer the period since a major bushfire, the more severe a bushfire is likely to be when it does happen. Some have postulated that historical bushfire experience can be viewed in relation to a cycle or to cycles within a cycle. In her useful publication The Complete Bushfire Safety Book1, Joan Webster draws on the work of RH Luke and AG McArthur to describe possible cycles for average to mild bushfires happening every season, serious fires every six or seven years, major fires every 10–11 years, and exceptionally bad ones every 22 years. She notes that the average time between great conflagrations is 44 years and speculates that the apparent rough mathematical relationship with 11 and 22-year cycles might be related to sunspot activity (which intensifies each 11 years), the El Nino phenomenon and other weather patterns.
When the inexact science of climatology is coupled with the science of bushfire behaviour—which is also a very challenging area to submit to scientific explanation—the prospects for speculative hypotheses are large. Nevertheless, whether the cyclical theory is correct or not, it seems well established (even if solely based on the empirical evidence of past events) that very large bushfires will occur from time to time, when the fuel and weather conditions combine in a particular way.
Chapter 1 includes a history of serious fires in the ACT. Reference to that information confirms that some very serious fires have occurred. Further very serious fires occurred in January 2003. In that sense, the most recent fires were not unique, nor were they a one-in-100-year event. They were part of a pattern of serious fires emanating from the Brindabella Range, crossing the Murrumbidgee River, traversing rural grazing properties and because of relatively recent urban development, moving into suburban Canberra.
An examination of the maps in Appendix E is instructive. They show a pattern of serious fires that have mostly emerged to the west of the site of Canberra in the last four decades. Overall, most of the ACT has been burnt by these significant fires, some parts on several occasions, although it will be noted that the 2003 fires led to a larger footprint than any of the previous major fires in the last 80 years.
Were the fires predictable? In terms of when they would actually occur, probably not. Had the fires not been ignited by lightning strikes on 8 January, the ACT community might now be in the situation it was in immediately before they broke out. The high fuel loads in the hills would have remained and the drought conditions would still have had an impact on dryness, although with the onset of cooler winter weather and some rain the immediate fire danger has diminished substantially. Come the next bushfire season, the volatility of the fuels will depend heavily on the amount of rain the ACT receives between now and then. With little rain and high temperatures, though, the extreme dryness that has characterised the drought could return quickly and bring with it a level of threat similar to that which existed in the bushfire season of 2002–03.
The extreme dryness of the soil and vegetation and the high fuel loads in the hills were known, and their significance was generally understood by the bushfire authorities. When the fires broke out, the weather conditions over the ensuing week were relatively benign, even though the winds were unseasonably coming from the east for longer than would normally be expected.
The weather conditions on 18 January were predicted to be extreme but not at record levels. As the fires developed and their cumulative effect hit the city, fire weather indices did reach record levels in some areas.
It seems that it was the factors that combined on 18 January—very high temperatures, strong prevailing winds, high fuel loads, extremely low humidity, extreme dryness in the soil as a consequence of the prolonged drought and, possibly most significantly, the major fires merging—created a fire environment of exceedingly high intensity overall. This may have been responsible for creating extreme localised weather conditions, causing very high winds (up to force 2, tornado strength), increasing the speed of advance of the fires and increasing the extent and length of spotting. The 14-kilometre convection column of hot air and smoke that was created is thought to have collapsed, causing further wild turbulence in the fire zone as it approached Canberra.
Scientists are still studying the fire behaviour in order to gain a clearer understanding of its characteristics. While this endeavour may result in a conclusion that aspects of the fires on 18 January in themselves were unique— in that they helped to add to the knowledge of the characteristics of extreme fire behaviour, specifically relating to wind behaviour and the effect of large fires fusing together—it is the view of the Inquiry that it would be misleading to regard the event as a one-in-100-year occurrence, on this basis alone. Although it was probably the most severe fire experienced in the region in the last 100 years, the emergence of large destructive fires in the region, from time to time, is by no means unique.
It would be more accurate to say that the event was unique in the experience of the residents of Canberra and its surrounds, and probably of all the firefighters, because fires of this kind have never before caused such damage to the region. A house had not been lost to bushfire in suburban Canberra since 1952.
The Inquiry’s view is that one of the lessons of the fires is the realisation that very serious and potentially destructive fires that may threaten the city could happen again in the future. The Canberra community must not forget this. The fires cannot be simply explained away as an unfortunate, unlucky or ‘one-off’ event.
Notes Webster, J 2000, The Complete Bushfire Safety Book, 3rd edn, Random House, Sydney.
A final word
Some concluding observations are necessary so that readers gain a balanced understanding of what is said earlier in this report.
A fundamental question raised by the Inquiry’s examination of the operational response to the January 2003 bushfires is whether, realistically, the fires could have been extinguished at all, before the damage to Canberra occurred. A plausible case can be argued that the effects of the long drought, the build¬up of fuel levels in the mountains, the presence of commercial plantations from close to the source of the fires right up to the edge of the city, and the dangerous weather conditions on 17 and 18 January all combined to make it nigh on impossible to contain or extinguish the fires before they reached Canberra, regardless of the effort and resources that might have been applied.
The Inquiry considers, however, that there was a chance to extinguish the fires if the opportunity to put them out in the first 36 to 48 hours after the lightning strikes had been grasped more vigorously. The ACT fire authorities are criticised for not coming to this realisation quickly enough and for failing to immediately attack the fires with all the aggression they could muster. Had this occurred— while the Inquiry is not in a position to conclude unequivocally that it would have made a difference in the absence of the fullest response that was potentially available—the doubt remains that the fires that originated in the ACT could have been stopped. There would be little ground for criticism if, despite no effort being spared during those critical first days, the fires had in fact proved unstoppable. Unfortunately, in the Inquiry’s judgment, this was not the case.
Many recommendations are made in this report. If they had all been implemented before the fires, would that have made a difference? The Inquiry considers that, had the improvements it recommends in relation to strengthening the initial attack capability of the Bushfire Service already been implemented when the fires first broke out, things could have been different.
Beyond that point, if the fires proved impossible to suppress or contain, they may still have been difficult to stop before they reached Canberra. The Inquiry is confident, though, that with an improved and strengthened bushfire capacity, as recommended, the ACT will be better able to deal with the range of bushfires that are more likely to be encountered in the future. There will still remain the possibility of the occasional very big fire that will fully test the available resources, but the prospect of minimising damage to the city will be improved if the measures recommended are adopted.
The Inquiry questioned at length the personnel responsible for managing the response to the fires and tried to place itself in their shoes so as to reach fair and objective judgments about the critical decision points during the long campaign on the fires. This disaster has had serious consequences for many people, and for the ACT community generally, and it needs to be analysed closely and critically.
Experience is the basis of most of the progression of human knowledge, and there is much we can learn from our mistakes. It is inevitable therefore that inquiries of this kind concentrate on weaknesses, errors and shortcomings. They do not dwell to the same extent on those aspects where systems and people performed satisfactorily or in the way intended.
The Inquiry considers that the basic structure of the ACT Public Service, which underpinned the whole operation and has responded so well during the recovery phase, is fundamentally very sound. Readers need to recognise this when reflecting on the search for improvement that pervades most of the report.
The recommendations made in this report will considerably strengthen the ACT community’s capacity to withstand and recover from serious emergencies including bushfires, in the future. The Government has already made a number of decisions that involve commitment to expend considerable sums of money on improving the operational capability of the emergency service organisations. The Inquiry’s recommendations, if adopted, will involve additional expenditure.
Finally, a word about the people involved. The individual government officials, employees and volunteers spared nothing in terms of their personal commitment during a long and difficult crisis, then as soon as the crisis had passed they had to cope with the demands and complexities of the recovery phase. After that, the investigators started to come along, forcing many of them to relive the experience, asking them to try to reconstruct events from their sometimes blurry recollection, and requiring them to respond to a myriad of hypothetical, and possibly at times irritating, propositions. The Inquiry is full of admiration for the way those people it dealt with who occupied positions of responsibility or authority during the fires continued to respond to the changing challenges of an event that is, in different ways, very much still the focus of their attention.
Any criticism directed at individuals because of the role they were required to perform is in no way intended to question their integrity or their honesty in doing what they felt in the circumstances was the right thing to do at the time.
The heads of the international delegations made statements about the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence. This was done in a round table setting.
Watch the entire high level plenary session: youtu.be/J8APAkq4LlY
Read the speech by Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra at the round table: www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs/...
Watch the REAIM 2023 aftermovie: youtu.be/dSZ48joIXJ0
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Martijn Beekman
Once again I post some photos about a concentration camp. They're not intending to be a statement of "Look, I went there!", but a reminder that such places exist because human beings made them. And, what's more frightnening, they made them only 70 years ago. We take for granted that it all belongs to the past, and then there's Rwanda... there's Bosnia... there are countries such as North Korea... and that's the world we live in. It's all up to us, to each one of us, to try and make a difference. To make a difference when we vote, when we smile and greet other people, no matter their skin colour, religious beliefs, sexual orientation... when we don't impose our beliefs, when we don't step into others peoples freedom, when we dispute our differences by talking and not by fighting, when we make it possible for everyone to have access to a good education, when we really respect each other...
Auschwitz was worst then Dachau. Fear and horror spreads from the apparently harmless houses that line across the streets. You walk along the small groups that wonder from house to house and the more you walk, the more it gets through your skin, like a sting that keeps getting deeper and deeper. And then you realize that it's a terrible though to think that no matter how bad you imagine life was as it was there, you aren't even close to the real picture. No matter how much you tremble when you see tens of suitcases, toothbrushes, shoes and millions of human hair, you'll never get even close to feel the horror that people just like us had to face.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
The process of transforming paint and other materials into images continues to compel and challenge me. Over the years, that process has led me from ceramics, photography, drawing and painting, and most recently to pursue experimental processes on paper. Painting fills me with a sense of serenity and integrity, and has proven a most reliable vehicle for translating inner vision to outer reality.
My abstract paintings explore the wonders of nature and beauty in our world. Personal symbols that have emerged through this process include; the Turtle (wisdom/grace), the Dragonfly (metamorphosis/change) and the Tree (steadfastness/beauty).
I use a variety of different paints/media (oil pastel, ink, acrylic, latex, gouache, and wood) and yet I am always drawn back to water colors for their unpredictable nature and their transparency.
I paint from the inside out. Focusing on the sensation and context of my experience. I work deliberately, employing both traditional and innovative techniques, while letting the uncertain nature of painting free my hand. My paintings are finished when they are able to convey a moment or sensation, as well as what I am feeling.
I am avaiable to do commisions and private art lessons also.
GALLERY SHOWINGS/ART SHOWS
2002 Mixed Media Exhibit Thornes Market Place (Northampton, MA)
2003 Water Color Exhibit Café Amanouz (Northampton, MA)
2005 Mixed Media Exhibit Cummington Community Center (Cummington, MA)
2009 Water Color Exhibit Sati Wellness Center (Aspinwall Center) Lenox, MA
2009 Mixed Media Exhibit Berkshires Green Grocer Lee, MA
2009 Pittsfield Art Show (Juried Exhibition) Pittsfield, MA
2009 Think Pink Exhibit (Breast Cancer Benefit show) Pittsfield, MA
2009 JWS Art Supplies Watercolor/Mixed Media Exhibit Great Barrington, MA
PUBLISHED ARTICLES/COVERS
1) The Yoga Of Art (Interview), The Artful Mind, April 2009
2) Finding Peaceful Art: The Advocate, April 2009
3) Featured Artist of Month (Title: Into The Mystery): Preview Magazine, May 2009
4) The Art of Slowing Down: Berkshires Best Buys, Business and Beyond, November,2009
5) Cover Art (Winter Bloom): Wisdom Magazine-New England Edition
6) Cover Art (The Winds Of Change): Our Berkshire Green, June-August 2010
7) The Yoga of Art(part 2), Berkshires Best Buys, Business and Beyond, March 2011
8) The Business of Art, The Artful Mind, March 2011
COURSEWORK
1993 University Of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireIntroduction to Art Studio
1999 Camp Nebagamon, Wisconsin: Ted Semling Private Art Instruction
2001 Crow Hill Gallery, Vermont: Jeanne Carbonetti Private Art Instruction
2006 NX Level Training Network: Business Planning for Artists. Denise Mason
2009-2011 Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Stockbridge, MA Painting the Light Within. (Watercolor Training) Jeanne Carbonetti (Vermont)
2010 is183 Art School Stockbridge, MA Breathing in Color (Watercolor Training) Senta Reis
2011 is183 Art School Stockbridge, MA Painting Studio. Yura Adams
2010-PresentMassachusetts Small Business Development Center, Pittsfield, MA
Art Business Coaching/Training. Keith Girouard
VOLUNTEER WORK: 2010/2011 is183 Art School Stockbridge, MA
BS Degree in Biology
Masters Degree in Education
Peace Corps Service 1994-96 (Samoa)
Liscensed Massage Therapist
Outdoor Fitness Intstructor
If you are interested to learn more about this artwork feel free to contact me at scottharringt10@hotmail.com
You can also follow me on the following sites:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/scott-harrington/11/189/a39
Facebook (personal page): www.facebook.com/scott.harrington1
Facebook (fine art group): www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=252127618069&v=wall
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/scottharrington111
My studio/gallery is in Lenox, MA. Tours are avaiable by request.
I have prints (framed/unframed) at discounted prices to fit your budget also.
(Photo taken in Plazo De Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina Spring 2008)
Repetition and Ritual
The sculptures for the show were created this summer and were inspired by the idea of repetition and fungi forms in nature. These pieces center on the creative act as personal obsession. This work is the beginning of an exploration of the idea of repetition and ritual experienced through the process of making. A prescribed order of assembling, manipulating, and presenting the materials borders on ceremony. Ritual is also found in these works and in this process.
These obsessions are expressed with the laborious act of felt making, the oldest known textile form dating back 8,500 years and also fungi, one of the oldest life forms, dating back one billion years ago.
In making this work, repetition is used to single-mindedly pursue, refine, and purify an idea. Repetition and obsession is an effort of holding a visual image or idea in the mind for extended periods. The profound techniques in art of repetition lead us from the repetitions of habit and daily life.
Repetition can be transcendence. Repetition is the capturing and stopping of time.
These forms are based on clusters of fungi I found in the forest this summer. These clusters would sometimes be comprised of hundreds of small round forms. The pattern work is an abstraction from mushroom spore prints that I made from the caps of foraged fungi. When placed under a glass over night the mushrooms release spores and make beautiful intricate forms.
My fascination with fungi stems from the idea of life cycles that has been ever present in my work. Fungi relies on mostly decayed organic matter to live, thus continuing the idea of the cycle of birth, life, and death. The physical becomes spiritualized. I construct forms to represent the sacred in universal archetypes of immortality and regeneration. It represents a desire for wholeness. Through ritual process I hope to manifest the magical to the physical.