‘SEEING THE INVISIBLE’
SEASON 1
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS VICTORIA CRANBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS VICTORIA MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, CANADA
THE JERUSALEM BOTANICAL GARDENS, ISRAEL
KIRSTENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDENS, SOUTH AFRICA
EDEN PROJECT, UK
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH, UK
TUSCON BOTANICAL GARDENS, USA
SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN, USA
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS, USA
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS, USA
ELM BANK GARDEN MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, USA
SEASON 2
ADELAIDE BOTANIC GARDEN, AUSTRALIA
EDEN PROJECT, UK
GARDENS BY THE BAY, SINGAPORE
THE JERUSALEM BOTANICAL GARDENS, ISRAEL
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS, FLORIDA
GARDEN AT ELM BANK, MASSACHUSETTS
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, TORONTO
NATIONAL GARDENS OF ATHENS, GREECE
LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER, TEXAS
WALTER SISULU NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDEN, SOUTH AFRICA
OCT 2022 - SEP 2023
Curated by
Hadas Maor & Tal Michael Haring
SEASON 1
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS VICTORIA CRANBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS VICTORIA MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS, CANADA
THE JERUSALEM BOTANICAL GARDENS, ISRAEL
KIRSTENBOSCH BOTANICAL GARDENS, SOUTH AFRICA
EDEN PROJECT, UK
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN EDINBURGH, UK
TUSCON BOTANICAL GARDENS, USA
SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN, USA
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS, USA
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS, USA
ELM BANK GARDEN MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, USA
SEASON 2
ADELAIDE BOTANIC GARDEN, AUSTRALIA
EDEN PROJECT, UK
GARDENS BY THE BAY, SINGAPORE
THE JERUSALEM BOTANICAL GARDENS, ISRAEL
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDENS, FLORIDA
GARDEN AT ELM BANK, MASSACHUSETTS
MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, TORONTO
NATIONAL GARDENS OF ATHENS, GREECE
LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER, TEXAS
WALTER SISULU NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDEN, SOUTH AFRICA
OCT 2022 - SEP 2023
Curated by
Hadas Maor & Tal Michael Haring
Pneuma is an ancient Greek word for breath, spirit, or soul. Mel O'Callaghan's work interlaces these meanings and invites the viewer to not only observe the work, but also engage with it and take part in a ritual process based on breathing.
Walking toward a shimmering portal, viewers cross its threshold into a sphere of increasing color, light, and sound mutations in which the sound of breathing is heard, as if penetrating it from the outside, blurring the boundaries of life and non-life, organic and inorganic. With each breath, faster and deeper, the viewer gradually attains an altered state of consciousness where the body becomes a site of revelation, transcending thresholds to see what lies beyond physical and psychological limitations. Through this work and previous breathing works, O'Callaghan explores the ways trance states can be achieved based on breathing, rhythmic sound, and altered posture. O'Callaghan's series of breath works was developed in collaboration with Sabine Rittner, Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
O'Callaghan's works explore human behavior and psychology in relation to notions of resistance, endurance, and transformation. Her videos, performances, installations, and paintings depict bodies pushed to the limit. Here and in much of her work, the human body is a site of agency and resilience through which she investigates individual and collective freedom.