After some delay we finally made it back to Saturna to visit Al and continue our holography experiments. Although the results were better this time, there still seem to be some fundamental flaws in our sandbox setup; likely our sand isn't clean enough. Nonetheless it was an opportunity to try a new single beam reflection setup and a different type of holographic film.
I tried very hard to inhale all of the magic of our time together there. Eleven hours in the lab. The rest spent sitting around stoned, chatting or listening to music. We ate oatmeal and soup and drank coffee. On the second day we drove to East Point — as is ritual by now — and were very lucky to see two grey whales just thirty or forty meters from us. Ecstasy! Then all of a sudden they would dive down and we'd lose track of them. We ran around up and down the trails in search of their slick arched backs penetrating the surface of the straight. Or a big burst from a blow hole. It was childish and beautiful - a warm memory I think I'll keep forever.
This was a special trip with a big final intention: to dismantle the lab Sid and I built on Saturna and bring it back to Vancouver in order to have more consistent access to the holographic process. We both still have much to learn but it's the pleasure of the process that pulls me towards it. It's so easy to become lost in the glow of the laser light in the darkened room. Especially when we are waiting in silence and stillness for the room and objects to settle, essentially meditating, in a room together. In that context it's impossible to forget the spiritual and social dimension of holography.
Love to Al, Sid and Madeleine
Sid's bouncing trick to see wether or not a battery still has charge
Al watching back digital scans of the 16mmm footage we shot during our last visit
The lamp shade is again our starting point - although we finally realize that the fabric moves too much to be captured
Clean, clean, clean, clean, clean, clean, clean, clean...
Record everything
First view and then we ran down!
I've never been this close before
Whale tail
Record everything
Never forget frog night
The fresnel array which I bought at Tokyo Hands with a mirror backing turned out to be our greatest success
Lost in the glow - this is what I am meditating next to for several minutes while waiting for the room to settle
Record everything
Al's hunger for experimental video resurfaced through black television screens and these fresnel holos
Record everything
Our final hologram: a CD. Can't remember what album it was. Something Al didn't care for.