Aimee Spencer-Mccallum

“Peace: freedom from disturbance; tranquillity”. For me, making art is a calming and peace evoking way to express myself creatively. My lens-based practice uses photography and video to explore connections with memories of peacefulness and finds ways to reconnect practices and places of calmness. My work started from the connection I have to a waterfall in Taranaki and the spiritual feeling of the sacred water that comes down from the mountain. Te Rere o Noke (Dawson Falls) is a calming spot, surrounded by nature. The noise of the waterfall, while loud and all-consuming, is peaceful as it engulfs our thoughts with its presence. This is the same calm feeling I get when I fold lotus flowers and make art. I want to create art that provides me with a sense of peace while I work. While everyone’s sense of peace is not the same, swimming pools, and lotus ponds can evoke peace. I want to portray and bring about the feeling of calm in the viewer while also questioning how such feelings may be simulated.