RADICALIS

A deep dive exploration project unfolding through multiple iterations across diverse media into all things that form the answer to the question ‘who am I?’.

RADICALIS is a 3-part project aiming to uncover fertile fields of remembering, made up of Identity Tree, Family Tree and Spirit Tree. It puts forth the public questioning of both ‘who am I?’, and ‘am I really all the things I think I am?’. It also ties in the associated questions of “what am I?” and “what’s my purpose?”. Through its responses that traverse ecology, cosmology, theosophy and beyond, it unearths roots that highlight ways we are all connected, how unity is intertwined with our uniqueness, the aliveness of everything, and how song, movement and storytelling are essential tools.

IDENTITY TREE
DMo created a list of all the aspects she could think of that made up her identity, both from a personal point of view and the associations embedded by the society in which she grew. From this list she created her first personal Identity Tree wall installation (2020). Taking a large flat canvas, DMo painted a multicoloured, swirling abstract base. Next she wrote each word or aspect on the canvas, and then cut the whole into parts according to each aspect. The canvas pieces were then placed on the wall in the shape of a tree measuring 2.5 x 4m. A blank template of the identity tree, created as an activity sheet for public participation, was included in the limited edition artzine Questionmark (2022).
Is understanding how we identify our self, whether inherited or self-imposed, the root to freedom, because we then understand what we need to relinquish in order to let our true essence shine forth?

FAMILY TREE
DMo’s explorations continue with research into the various meanings of her name, as well as her family tree, ancestral lineage, and the possibility of past lives and lives lived beyond this earth. This part of the project will culminate in a video art series, along with a water and projection installation.
How does our name and family roots affect the person we are, who we’re here to be, and what we’re here to do?

SPIRIT TREE
In this part of the project DMo flips the common Western paradigm of the material as the primary aspect of our being, exploring spirit as our primary aspect and the physical, material world as our secondary aspect, all ultimately connected as one energetic ocean or field. DMo is mapping this tree through a book trilogy that expresses a life creative and the pursuit of what is.
How does our life change, expand, exist if we become aware that our roots are spirit?