After several rescheduled dates, the Nothing ‘is’ Immediate exhibition finally opened at Chapel Arts Studio (CAS) on Saturday 4th September 2021. The show looked fantastic! Moreover, it was a pleasure to share this creative journey with fellow CAS associate artists Maija Liepins and Christine Dodd, as well as to co-create and co-curate the exhibition with CAS Curator Susan Francis. The collaborating artists reveal the following insights about their work.

Maija Liepins: Exploring Elements and Wellbeing

Maija Liepins shares:
“Every element is in relationship with the others. For instance, we can see this in the weather when we perceive rain, wind, earth, and sunshine not in isolation but where they meet. My elemental and layered film ‘Transmutation’ invites viewers to experience the balancing of opposites as an expression of human whole-ing, self-awareness, and creative transformation. Additionally, artifacts from my process are also on display.”

She further explains that the goal of Nothing ‘is’ Immediate was to explore and reimagine art as sacred, functional, and supportive of wellbeing. For 2020, she set a wellbeing-focused intention: to transform her relationship with the element of Fire. “Tired of burning up and burning out, I wanted to feed my creative fire by focusing on what is nurturing, satisfying, and enlivening,” she says. Drawing on symbolism from her mythological imagination, her work therefore explores vitality, desire, strength, and courage.

Christine Dodd: Water, the Sacral Chakra, and Creative Transformation

Similarly, Christine Dodd reflects on her creative process in response to Tony’s icosahedron sculpture:
“The creative twists and turns in my practice started with my usual creative chaos. Consequently, I approached the project by exploring the relationship between the form and its symbolic connection to the Sacral chakra and the element of Water. The Crocodile, associated with the sacral chakra, inspired me to study its attributes and find them within myself as I moved like a crocodile. From this, the Crocodile Wisdom Oils were born, complete with a handwritten guide for self-healing, spiritual growth, and self-understanding.”

Furthermore, her other work for Nothing ‘is’ Immediate draws on her deep connection to water and the sacral chakra’s energy. Through her installation Healing the Mother Wound, she makes visible the often unseen life force surrounding us, while simultaneously gaining insights into her own healing process.