Step 1: I called/texted the last 5 people from my Facebook messenger list and the last 5 people text messenger list. Without giving context to them I simply asked people to provide me with a location (in Sydney) and one of the 5 senses. I was left with 10 different locations and a variation of senses.
From the beginning of this project I felt very attracted to the notion sensory experience. Something about following those innate senses has a very intuitive and serendipitous element. It is tainted with the unexpected. Without even thinking I chose the number 5, when I went onto numerology.com I was surprised that it said; “The number 5 is the most dynamic and energetic of all the single-digit numbers. It is unpredictable, always in motion and constantly in need of change.”
After writing down each sense and each place I was left with this list with 10 options of each:
Step 2: The next step was to write down each word on a piece of paper. I went into the closest art shop I could find and went to the paper section. I closed my eyes and randomly put my hand on a piece of paper. It was a light blue ocean colour:
I cut up each piece and placed the words and senses in seperate piles:
Step 3: I went to a cafe called ‘Orchard Street’ down the road from campus. I knew that they had tarot cards there and it felt appropriate considering I was attempting to make a random selection from my blue card deck that was somewhat akin to a Tarot card ritual.
My results were as follows:
I received the sense of ‘sight’ and the location of Bronte beach. After picking my place and sense. I decided to flip the top card of each of the tarot decks sitting on the table just for an added measure.
One of the cards was a whale which had an instant correlation with the ocean. The other card was a ten of swords, it featured a naked body floating in the air surrounded by 9 snakes. The card read: ‘Abyss, uncertainty, going all the way’.
Step 4: I went to Bronte beach with intent to take in everything primarily through my eyesight but also engage with my other senses. During this process I was going to write down the first 5 most prominent objects/words/impressions that stuck out to me.
The first word/visual impression that came into my head when I arrived was BODIES. Instantly I saw a lot of human bodies, everyone out and enjoying the sun. Then the bodies of different sea creatures and of course the ocean; a body of water.
The second thing I saw was the word prohibited. This instantly made me think of bodies again and the ways in which they can be prohibited (i.e. certain bodies deemed being unacceptable, censorship of female body parts on social media or bans on fishing/boating activities in certain bodies of water).
The third thing that caught my eye was an old rusted pipe. I thought of how the salt makes certain materials rust. Again I thought of bodies. Of how bodies age and rust and crumble and shed skin.
The fourth thing noted was the mini ecosystems in the tide pools. Shells, crabs, seaweed, barnacles. The human body itself is an ecosystem. These appeared closer by to a sign that had the word reserve on it. Thus I thought of bodies as a reservoir of some sort.
The fifth thing that struck me was the notion of renewal and transformation. I noticed the way the sand was was softer and more refined closer the ocean and more grainy and defined closer the land. Through the body of water the sand had changed form. The waves and currents has moulded it and shaped it. The human body has similar aspects; it’s ability to heal wounds, the digestive process, crying and many more things.
Finally as I was wrapping up I decided to collect some sample objects. I found a series of shells in intriguing shapes, a small piece of glass that had been softened and shaped by waves and just as I was leaving the beach I saw a plastic snake on the sand. This snake looked almost identical to the snake on one of the tarot cards at the cafe. The tarot cards that featured snakes and a floating BODY. From a quick google search, snakes tend to symbolise ‘Fertility’ and ‘rebirth’. The process of snakes shedding their skin highlights transformation, renewal and healing.
It is important to note that there are some really interesting connections between all of these steps. Firstly, that I picked a blue piece of paper that made me instantly think of the ocean. Secondly, that the tarot cards on the tops of the decks at the cafe were a whale and a body surrounded by snakes. I also picked the only location option that was central the a large body of water. Thirdly, when I reached the ocean the many forms bodies on the beach were the most prominent aspect, a body of water and the human bodies bathing. Finally the plastic snake I almost stepped on and it’s connection to the earlier tarot cards.
Thus the final word/concept derived from my random generating process is straightforward: BODIES/BODY. The other elements explored are subcategories that offer modes of exploration from which to view the main concept.