The rain dance ritual is one of the most famous rituals in many indigenous cultures. Water and warmth of the Sun are basic things that life needs to grow and flourish. Rituals like the rain dance usually were performed by a shaman who during the performance went into a spiritual world and changed things there, by doing so the shaman could cause a rain to appear in a physical world. Many indigenous people from all over the world believed that everything is connected and by changing certain things we are changing the whole world, for better or worse it’s up to us.
In the Rain Dance Project, I used the same methods and rules but in a modern setting and in my interpretation. I believe that anybody can be a shaman, at least for themselves. Anybody can access different states of their unconsciousness by applying certain methods and heal or change themselves and possibly even the world around them.
Shamanic practices require powerful visual and audial effects to enhance the experience and to stimulate the mind. The elements I used in the art project are: moving human bodies covered in clay, a 3d projection, a circle of shattered glass and a rhythmical soundscape.
The soundtrack was made by putting together five different live recordings. In each recording I played one musical instrument in a strange manner or and music instrument was altered. In order to achieve a shamanic effect, the soundscape had to be rhythmical and unsettling.
During the performance, a human body was standing in the circle of shattered glass. The circle of shattered glass symbolises environmental problems that are occurring in a broad sense. Clay, that was smeared onto a human body, was a symbol of potential problem or solution. By performing a rain dance human body wished to be freed from a heavy weight and hardness of clay. If the rain would pour down it would wash down the clay onto the circle of shattered glass and the earth would cover it, therefore, it would make a comfortable platform to stand on.
Humans and most of animals have a pair of organs of sight; it helps to see distances and to position things in spaces. For example, the mirror world is very strange, it seems more real than pictures or moving images, and there are many myths and traditions connected with it. It’s mainly because a reflective surface is flat yet we can see a reflection in all three dimensions. Exactly the same process happens with an anaglyph 3d projection. Our minds create a 3d image because each eye receives a different picture. By using a 3d projection I tried to project a representation of the spiritual world, the world that is different from ours, yet as real for some as is this one.
The work was exhibited at Beaconsfield Gallery London, April 2017.