Jenny, your archived records are an extensive and rich and diverse collation of all of the thinking and processes within your practice. The archive is dynamic and engaging. Well done.
MARK RECEIVED WAS 18/20
Writing this proposal required about twenty drafts. Advice received I approach Keely Macarow, however, after a conversation and some thinking time I decided Keely was not the right person for me to spend two years of my life working with. I approach Marnie Badham again and she suggested. Laresa Koslof, this worked out well and I started to re-write the application. After about six drafts I got there with great support from potential supervisors.
However, writing this proposal greatly impacted my thinking about my Build a Brain project, not only for the conclusion of this Honours research project, but in relation to social and public art events proposed for 2021. I did a lot more research and discovered people like Professor Antonio Damasio, Portuguese/American neurscientist who writes about emotions and their place in the body, how the brain receives these neuronal messages and converts them to feeling such as fear and anxiety. This awareness of the body's prominence in emotional expereince was a turning point in my project. I was doing a lot of sensory therapy work, noting changes in my body, such as feeling more grounded, safer, connected, Damasio put words to these awarenesses. I coined the phrase Body Bonding.
I read about Tibbetan Monks meditating under Functional MRI scans. Results of this research led back through Default Mode, or self-reflexive relaxed mode to Dr Stephen Porges and also to Daniel Levetin who shows how music impact syncronicity, bonding and connections.
My therapist suggested Dan Siegel who teaches children about naming their emotions to tame them. Using his Hand Model of the Brain he shows how our Frontal Cortex is key to forming relationships and thereby developing resilience. Richard Schzwarz who talks about the core self, and the many selves, through his Integrated Family Therapy approach.
These professionals all informed the final stages of my Building a Brain project and my exegesis. I have never been able to form and sustain strong relationships, my fear and anxiety destroy everything. Information is empower and in association with my sensory therapy practices my body and mind developed. Through enlightenment I gained a sense of safety and was empowered to form healthy reliable connections.
A two week residency, I spent the first days at home completing my first semester exegesis. During the break I travelled to Johanna River Farm & Cottages. I wrote & sang songs. I videoed & photographed the farm, the animals, the tree lopper, the horse farrier. A sensory beginning to a self-reflexive second semester.
Collage on oil and acrylic painting, attached to a soundtrack about Johann River Farm.
Path of the Horse in Trentham. First time I said I was just taking photos of the horses for my Alfred Hospital Project. I felt a tug at my heart & returned two weeks later.My friend & support worker Sean drove.Dean is an ex-vet & union-man. All the horses are trauma survivors. I felt safe, I changed, so did my project
1st equine therapy session I took photos
Dean Mighell psychotherapist supports participants to engage with his horses, all
have been saved from trauma
Rocky died not longer after this photo, he was very old.
I applied to RMIT's Spark Prize in association with Hardie Grant Books with a narrative non-fiction. I wrote the Introduction, Synopsis and Chapter briefs. It's about the history, social conditioning and development of humanity's emotional behaviour, focussing on my own family's last four generations.
I worked on these images for two weeks, I have hundreds of images, these are the nine that I completed satisfactorily. I met Ella at Path of the Horse and she agree I could use her image for the Alfred Hospital Project. I decided to use the photos in these collage works instead, without discussing my decision with her family. I sent the first image to Dean from Path of the Horse who got back saying, please don't associate us with the horse racing industry because they do some terrible things. Of course I was devastated and went to bed, but realised he was right. So I intend to make this work about a girl who goes travelling with her horse around Victoria. I heard a story on ABC radio Conversation Hour recorded 31st October 2018 about a boy Lennie Gwyther form country victoria who helped his father on the farm during a difficult time and for reward he got to take his horse Ginger Mike to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, alone. Lennie's story appears in Peter Lalor's book The Bridge, published by Allen & Unwin in 2006
After 1st semester assessment I intended to re-do the audio for this video, however, that hasn't happened. I still hope to complete the work.
This was my first song, I wrote the words and drew upon Elton John's version for the chorus and tune. Other songs were written, each cathartic in its own way.
I spent a lot of time in zoom conversations with Sue, John (in France), Glenn from Bega and Fiona. I was trialling collaborative art works, only Fiona and Sue responded. The knitter critter is Sue's creation. Some of this work was presented for 2nd Semester Trial Presentation.
I aimed to make a trilogy of animated videos, one about the Polyvagal Body (which I made), one about Vagal Polyvagal Body (balanced body) and a third about Social Connection through Polyvagal Theory. I still hope to make these as they are really significant research and many practitioners are following, applying and promoting Porges findings.
I started this video in first semester, the aim was to show a technique many voice hearers utilise when in society. If hearing voices and feeling you need to respond, Hearing Voices Network teaches the strategy of holding your phone to your ear and talking into the phone, in this way passersby don't judge you negatively
When regional Victoria came un-lockdown I travelled to Alexandra where Granny & Grandpa lived 1950s to 70s. I was feeling like recalling happy times, the sensory therapies I engaging with enticed me to remember hand-holding with granny collecting eggs, gardening together and sitting on her knee while playing card games. I took lots of video then created two collage works. A song would be great.