CYBERLORE
2021-24
Playfully using herbal wisdom to heal digital ailments...
Edition size: 5 prints per image
Image size: 14 x 8.5 cm
Paper size: 18 x 25 cm
​
Cyberlore Blueprints (2021) were made using cyanotype – a printing method originally used to make blueprint diagrams. Cyanotype chemicals are painted onto paper in a darkroom, overlaid with a template (acetate with drawing, flowers, tape), exposed to UV light, then rinsed to reveal the final print.
‘when you’re surfing the net, you’re not really here.’ So where are you then? The answer is cyberspace, its own realm, in which your spirit engages with the spirits of others similarly travelling. It’s another dimension that doesn’t really exist in time or space; and doesn’t that make it, to the perspective of a magick-worker, an astral realm? Surfing the net, therefore, is astral travelling of a sort. And there are all kinds of procedures and precautions that we take when we astral travel... which don’t even cross our minds when surfing the web.”
witchesandpagans.com ‘cyberspace as astral realm’
This cyanotype series inspired two films performing the guide as a tutorial.
The first film was shot vertically on a mobile, mimicking how film has shifted for social media.
The second film is shot using a 360 camera, experimenting with the possibilities of intimate + meditative virtual reality experiences.
360° virtual reality film - ideally experienced using a VR headset but can also be viewed via a phone or tablet by moving it up/down/sideways. Best experienced in a dark quiet room.
A tutorial for travelling more mindfully through cyberspace which drifts between
herbalism - "mint soothes nausea"
dreamy meditation - "breathe through your toes"
and total nonsense - "recalling your spirit like a dog"
‘Spirit Dog 360’ (2024) was performed at SomoS Arts Gallery in Berlin at 'Casting a Spell in Computational Regimens', an exhibition curated by Arianna Forte. Visitors were welcomed with mint tea (to reduce nausea) then immersed in a six-minute 360 VR film. Ella sat with them, mirroring their journey throughout and inviting reflection afterwards, all in a gentle and welcoming environment.
The film was exhibited at Mz Baltazar's Laboratory in Vienna.
Purchase prints of Cyberlore here
(inkjet print: £12 / originals: £130)
SPIRIT DOG 360
Inkjet print of 'Cyberlore' on 312gsm paper.