Bodhi Khaya Art Residency

As a selected artist for the inaugural Bodhi Khaya Residency 2021 I had no idea what to really expect. Going into an art residency with this type of uncertainty often creates an interesting soup of emotions for me: arousal, anticipation, stimulation, heightened awareness, excitement and a healthy dose of nervousness!

However, there is also an 'attunement' of sorts that surprises me every single time. Whether I travel (in spirit) up ahead of the residency or whether I am assisted by my Artist Spirit, it is clear to me that I am met before I actually arrive. The understanding of spirit-to-place, or spirit-to-soil, or spirit-of-the-land is in alignment with the honouring and respects which need to be in place prior to arrival. By this I mean to say that as a non-indigenous person I need to ask permission and honour the Keepers of the Land that I will working on. In the 2021 residency, I felt a strong need to reflect this honouring by betrothing the Land of Bodhi Khaya. I was very fortunate that there is a magnificent host of clay ochre colours high on the mountain side where I buried my wedding dress. The performance saw me draped in the wet clay of this dress, holding a 'library' of fabric leaves that I had transferred from the immediate natural environment. The performance ended in a sacred Milkwood forest with the audience as participants as they pinned and unpinned the fabric leaves to my wedding attire.

It will be interesting to discover what the soon-to-be-happening 2022 residence will bring! What I do know is that I am excited to be collaborating with Alisa Farr as we explore mycelium and the hidden colonial network with Kagiso Kekana adding vibrations to the growing Mycelium through African song. In a very real sense Mycelium will become an added collaborator as we plan to grow the Mycelium onto a dress for a performance towards the end of the residency. But in all honesty, there is no way of knowing whether this sentience process will agree to collaborate or not ...

Image credit: MyMalaika_Photography

For more on the residency happening 26th of September - 4th of October 2022 read here