Creativity and contemplative inquiry
Channel: Tuwhiri
Date: 2021-12-11

In this Creative Dharma event, artist Jacqui O’Reilly, recipient of the first Creative Dharma grant, was in conversation with Ronn Smith. It took place on 17 October 2021.

A lively exchange, which attracted a diverse group of dharma practitioners from around the globe, they discussed a wide range of topics, including Jacqui’s experimentation with sound, video and installations; her practice-led research for Into the River, a work-in-process about the Te Awa Kairangi Hutt river, near which she was raised in Aotearoa New Zealand; and artistic intervention as a way of addressing the ecological crises of our time.

Jacqui’s interest in contemporary animism and technology also led to a discussion about ‘granular synthesis.’ ‘It’s another conceptual approach I use where little bits and pieces of sound – or sonic grains – allow us to bypass conditional thinking, opinions and biases.’ Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, Jacqui is an artist and musician who lives in Sydney, Australia. Her art practise includes experimenting with sound, video and installation as artistic intervention within the ecological crises of our time.

Her installation A bird’s got to sing was exhibited online at the ‘Listening in the Anthropocene Exhibition 2020’. The work is a tribute to the silvereye or tauhou, a bird that is found in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. In order to communicate and survive, this small bird must sing louder and higher to be heard over urban noise.

As a result of receiving this Creative Dharma grant, Jacqui is continuing her practice-led research for work in progress Into the River. This project is about Te Awa Kairangi Hutt river. Jacqui describes the river as ‘the most significant symbol of the beauty of life and existence in my early years’.

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