Astral Vacation Ariel Ferrel Maine College of Art 2021
For Ian, my best friend and lover, the nimble, hilarious, and talented, for your boundless love and support without which this wouldn’t be possible. You are the rock and I am the seaweed. For Emma, the mystical wizard of words, my chosen sister, for encouraging me to pursue joy and helping me brainstorm this whole thesis concept. 18 years of pure love and counting, baby. For Dad, the legendary, slow–moving, pipe– smoking, gentle ape, for instilling in me a passion for seeking happiness, maintaining a peaceful heart, refraining from hate, and doing the least harm. RIP. I think of you daily. For Mom, the steady, inspirationally independent, timeless beauty, for all your help and support (especially these past 3 years), and for always accepting and encouraging me on my life path. World’s Best Mom.
A major turning point in my life was the death which coincided clos I witnessed someone who I thought was immortal fade away and pass from the physical world.
Then, three months later, I underwent the most intense and affecting experience a physical being can encounter; birth. effects of grief and postpartum depression on th
De
into questions and considerations of
h of my
father,
sely with the birth of my
son.
The combination of experiencing death, new life, and the complex and unique he mind led me to delve
eeper
f the mysteries of human consciousness.
Inspired by vibration and it’s affect on human consciousness, I created a set of cymatics inspired patterns. The patterns were then screenprinted onto silk organza and habotai using dye, ink, and discharge paste.
“Cymatics is the study of visible sound vibration and shows the transformational nature of sound and matter. Sound guides us and shapes us, yet is an intangible force. Cymatics gives validity to the fact that everything that we perceive as hard objects, including our bodies, are actually continuously vibrating at their own rates.” – Lynda Arnold
PATTERN OR IMAGE
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The sheer quality of the silk lent itself well to my concepts around a shifting and transitory soul/ spirit/psyche that can leave and return to the solidity of the body at will.
I am intrigued by death and the possibility of Through researching the afterlife, I became interested in conceptualizing death rather than an ending of consciousness.
What are the other states of consciousness?
How do we reach them?
Is it possible to reach beyond the states we a It is possible to have more control over our c
These are so
f an afterlife.
as another state of consciousness,
are most familiar with? conscious states than we are used to?
ome of the questions that captivate me.
Human cultures globally and throughout history have conceived of a vital principle, the seat of mind and self, that survives the death of the body as an individual spirit or as a part of a Universal Spirit” –Mario Beauregard
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The human desire to uncover the secrets of t
In particular, evidence of a belief in some ver remains of every ancient civilization.
Now, in the age of technology, we are finally s puzzle that is life beyond
This global and timeless belief in an afterlife transcends the body; that the spirit, or soul, is immortal,
and continues on after bodily death into eith
the unknown is as ancient as our species.
rsion of an afterlife has been found in the For thousands of years, humans have puzzled over the mysteries of
the beyond.
starting to piece together parts of the a physical body.
assumes that some part of being human
her a new body or a larger spirit realm.
“Consciousness comes in two forms: vibratory and therefor manifest, or what we call matter; and nonvibratory and therefor unmanifest, but containing All–there–is in a potential state, serving as a blueprint for matter.” –Itzhak Bentov
Printing with discharge paste allowed me to subtract color rather than add it. In harmony with the dye printed silks, these prints conjure a sense of negative/positive space and an awareness of the illusionary nature of the concept of something being there/not there.
PATTERN OR IMAGE
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Using the printed silks, as well as soft cotton jersey for the bodysuit, I created a ceremonial garb for travel on the Astral Plane. The bodysuit glows from beneath the drifting and floating forms of the silk garments.
A seemingly common thread relating to consci
vibration.
Vibrational tones are constantly on the frequency of the tone, we are either
awake a
Some brain wave resonations are even associa and Altered states of consciousness can be reach “a phenomenon known as the Frequency Fo subject hears a sound produced at a frequen with the operation of the human brain, the br pattern by adjusting its brainwave output.”
iousness in humans is the presence of
present in the human brain, and depending
e, asleep, relaxed, anxious, meditational,
in a trance, etc.
ated with out of body experiences states of suspended animation. hed more easily through Following Response, which means that if a ncy which emulates one of those associated rain will try to mimic the same frequency –The Monroe Institute
GARMENT INSERT Photos keep blank “I wanted to remain in the Light ... because it felt as if all knowing and feeling were contained there. It was like swimming in nothing but pure and unconditional love.” –Joe McMoneagle (NDE survivor)
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The theories of Itzhaz Bentov, a resonated with my thoughts and research wit In Bentov’s own words,
“The universe is a hologram or interferen interconnected, containing information about
The Entire Univ
of information could be called because it contains all the inform Each individual human consciousness is part o
therefore, by projecting one’s consciousness state of awareness, one can obtain knowledge
author of A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness, th his ‘holographic model of reality.’
nce pattern in which all parts are t each other and thus about
verse. This hologram The Universal Mind,
mation there is about the entire structure. of that hologram;
into the Universal Mind in a heightened e about the whole universe.”
GARMENT P
PHOTOS
PATTERN OR IMAGE Inspired by ancient stories of magic carpets able to fly their passengers to far off lands, I created the ‘Astral Carpet,’ to whisk it’s rider away to distant realms of human consciousness.
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If the entire universe is connected, including
then access to the entire universe is only one
Is there a way to hack access to the Universa
Perhaps it has alread where one can access binaural beats intended one’s brain to various states of consc
Perhaps the key is biofeedback, in which one can train their own brain to control bodily functions not normally under voluntar t
ast
g our
human
consciousnesses,
e heightened state of awareness away.
al Mind?
dy been done by the myriad of apps and sites d to entrain ciousness, including
out-of-body experience.
ry control. Or maybe the first step is through lucid dreaming, and then on to
tral projection.
The finished carpet, seen here, also gets it’s patterning from the forms seen in cymatics.
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I dream of living in a world where we are all a
The Universa
Is the universal mind ready to access it’s full
Can a spread in the individual’s ability to gain therapeutic, benefiting not only the individua extension the planet? Evidence
“Typically, people I have spoken with return f changes to attitudes, beliefs, values, and beha worldly things like material possessions, comp nonphysical things: in caring, compassion, and
aware of and utilize our connection to
al Mind. potential?
n access to the universal mind be al but the global community, and by
e suggests a move toward global individual higher consciousness could be a move toward global peace.
from Near Death Experiences with permanent avior. They become less interested in petition, and fame, and more interested in d altruism.” – Dr. Bruce Greyson
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The final installation includes the garments as a floating form, the Astral Carpet beneath it on the floor, and images of the ceremonial garb worn by a model, illustrating the journey to the four destinations of consciousness.
I see human consciousness as one of the final I see connections between
and what we recognize as
I believe in the importance of recognizing of this dimension we exist in, in seeking
light and happiness,
and in approaching the unkno
I hope to incorporate those philosophies into around the mysterious nature of the human
s
frontiers. the power of the mind,
the effect of vibration, our mental states, our states of consciousness, death, spirituality, science,
life/reality.
the humor in the chaos
own with an
open and curious mind.
o my work, as I further explore and create
spirit/mind/consciousness.
“So here you are, seemingly moving at infinite speed in the dark void. You are leaving this universe of ours, which now looks like a luminous watermelon in the distance...” –Itzhak Bentov