God Image

Exhibited at Gray Area Theatre
San Francisco, July 2024.

This work intends to breathe new life into ancient spiritual practices and rekindle an appreciation for mysticism in modern society; sparking a sense of wonder and enchantment about the magic inherent in our world as the line blurs between the material and immaterial realms.

Enter the God Image tabernacle to begin a visualization ritual, gazing into your own reflection as it dissolves and blends with esoteric imagery, until you are gazing into the eyes of a deity generated in your likeness.

I imagine this piece as what historical mystic artist William Blake may have created with the use of modern technology in his determination to communicate esoteric knowledge. Blake said of his work; "If the spectator could enter into these images in his imagination... then he would arise from his grave, then he would meet the lord in the air and then he would be happy" (A Vision of the Last Judgement, 1810).

Installation Design

A handcrafted modern tabernacle structure pays homage to traditional spiritual rituals by immersing the participants in a secluded, sacred space.

Visualization

Utilized in ritual practices throughout antiquity to guide intention setting.

In yoga and meditation practices as well as modern pagan and Wiccan rituals, participants are guided through intentional visualizing such as imagining beams of light emanating from areas of the body or connecting to the earth and other participants.

Taking advantage of TouchDesigner’s particle system rendering capability, participants are literally visually guided through the visualization aspect of the ritual which is typically done with closed eyes.

Trance States

My belief in hermetic practices leads me to believe that altered states of consciousness lead to altered states of knowledge.

Altered states of consciousness are traditionally achieved through gazing into alluring objects that strike the right balance between repetition and organic movement; such as the ritualistic tradition of gazing into the campfire, dating back to early human gatherings.

Gazing into obscured mirrors is also a common practice across many religious cultures for its entrancing effects and ability to encourage the questioning of one’s self.

TouchDesigner’s particle system movement that evolves to induce a trance state and encourage the dissolving of the idea of the self; to encourage the participants to enter into a different reality.

Divination

A traditional method for tapping into a divine pattern of the universe by combining intention with a carefully curated ‘randomization.’

The Tarot and I Ching are some of the most widely used methods of divination, using shuffling cards and scattering yarrow sticks to achieve the randomization.

The AI Image model is given a somewhat vague prompt about hermetic and hellenistic deities. I’m drawn to the mysterious nature of not knowing how the AI came up with the likeness of the participant. Even the engineers that build these algorithm models have a hard time explaining how they work.

Full Experience Flow

Concept Presentation