|
|
|
News > One Year 2 > Artist CV > RashannaRashanna
Name: Rashanna Rashied-Walker E mail: rashannarashied@googlemail.com
Inspiration
NOWCASTING SUN, CLOUD, WIND, RAIN,TEMPERATURE Free ruminative observations on the current state of the atmosphere. Servicing the land in and around Chiang Mai, Thailand. October 17- November 8th 2008 Call: 0875758612
To translate a sense of place, on the 18th of each month correspondence are mailed to stateside and foreign affiliates in the form of a telegram. These poetic descriptions of the land resonate not only with the receiver of the telegram but with all of those who encounter the message in route to its final destination. This classic postal service has just been discontinued in Thailand and is slowly being phased out all over the world.
THE FORTUNES OF BOTH YOU AND ME The setting: LamYai Flower Market, Chiang Mai.  
  Notes from a land observer: ******************************************************** MEDIA  A BOOK OF THREES Here is a book. A book of three's. Three stories and three copies. 1 FOR YOU- this one you hold on to. 1 FOR SOMEONE ELSE- this one you give to a friend, great aunt, lover, distant cousin, you decide. 1 FOR SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW-this one you give to someone you haven't met before, a random stranger or anyone you would like to know. Enjoy all things to come.
THE EVERGREEN a short story following a womans 1st and only tattoo. ****************************************************** AGRICULTURE  Returning to the land. Physically: daily living, planting and harvesting rice, watering garden. Mentally: adopting a daily meditation practice. Spiritually: cultivating a mind and body connection the physical landscape at a basic, fundamental level. Questions: How else can I contribute to the physical land? How can I help both Ai-Wai and Pi-Baan Move towards self-sustainability? I begin to think about a viable system for trash distribution that everyone can understand and also investigate composting. Group planting of in house kitchen garden for all to use.  Dream land project: If you could dream a dream of the land what would it be? I would plant sunflowers on the road to the land. I begin to investigate how to go about bringing my dream into reality and find out from Ai-Wai the season for sunflowers has just ended but this information doesn’t deter me. I forge on and make a trip to Kamtiheng Flower Market to buy seedling trays and an assortment of sunflower seeds to start experimenting. This project wasn't realized full scale but rather on a small plot of space near the back pond. The sunflowers sprouted and grew no taller than knee level, the seasons changed, and they retreated back into the earth. The tamarind never sprouted as I think they need a longer period of time to germinate. ***************************************************** MEDITATION The idea of the land is a simple one,
an open space for people to exchange, learn, discuss and interact. The
land I have come to realize can exist anywhere because it's ethos
manifests itself firstly in the mind. One of the hardest things is to quiet the mind when consumed by daily stimulus. Simple transactions, moving from point A to B, completing a task can usually be done without much effort or skill but when something throws our routine off kilter or we come in contact with negative energy, it lingers, clings and weighs us down. To reverse the effects, to remain balanced in the midst of adversity is a wonderful gift I have been fortunate to be exposed to here at the land foundation. Knowing nothing of meditation beyond the span of guided imagery, and thinking of pleasantries, I got a surprise upon completing the mandatory 10-day Vippassana meditation course in Boston that was challenging, uplifting, overwhelming, eye-opening and overall what I needed at that very moment. Then coming to Thailand continuing to develop and cultivate a mindful practice within temples, on mountaintops, at the land, in guesthouses, valleys, and caves. Trying to continually develop a sense of non-self and harmony within. Meditation is a vital life tool because nothing is stable or stilly but like the wily winds shifting and constantly changing. I am full of gratitude for this year has been such a fulfilling experience, on multiple levels. I have learned so much about myself, others, community, culture, art, agriculture, media and participation. I am truly thankful to Adjan Kamin and P-Rirkrit for conceiving the one-year project as a residency, and to all of the land staff and friends who brought it to reality. For like-minded individuals to be afforded the space and time to experiment with different modes and methods of practice, art practices that extend into daily practices for one year is truly a precious endowment. The one-year project is quite special and unique in this way for it spans the earth’s full orbit around the sun. In that rotation one is able to learn and experience nature’s bountiful transformations, cycles of rebirth and at the same token observe and discover new things that are happening within. The land attempts to be place where people can share these experiences, ideas, and pushes forward towards new ways of thinking. At times it succeeds and at other times it fails but still and all not on any epic level because there is always a lesson involved for we are all searching, and seeking a deeper understanding. Go on and strike out. Shimmy and Sham. Jam with Jim. Chant at the sun. Sing fragrantly to the moon. Mingle with those archaic calling rains. Listen to P-Tom rant for more than 5 minutes. It is then you will soon notice a systematical advent. There is a pattern. There is delightful sense in that rumble. Everything is connected. Today he asked me about Sidney Poitier. It must be time to write another letter.
Bellewether Medley |
|
