Darśana is an an interactive, multi-channel installation offering participants an artistic, somatic immersion in Hindu mythology. The exhibit interprets the Hindu concept of 'darśana'—a practice involving the experience and observance of a deity—through a contemporary lens. At the heart of the installation is Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved flutist deity celebrated for his wisdom and charm. Participants are immersed in a digital rendition of his native forested land, Vṛndāvana. Here, they are encouraged to move, dance, and interact with their surroundings. By presenting ancient stories through new media technologies, "Darśana" explores the potential of modern technology to reinterpret and revitalize traditional practices and beliefs for contemporary audiences, drawing their attention to their cultural heritage. / Master of Fine Arts / Darśana is an an interactive, multi-channel installation offering participants an artistic, somatic immersion in Hindu mythology. The exhibit interprets the Hindu concept of 'darśana'—a practice involving the experience and observance of a deity—through a contemporary lens. At the heart of the installation is Lord Kṛṣṇa, the beloved flutist deity celebrated for his wisdom and charm. Participants are immersed in a digital rendition of his native forested land, Vṛndāvana. Here, they are encouraged to move, dance, and interact with their surroundings. By presenting ancient stories through new media technologies, "Darśana" explores the potential of modern technology to reinterpret and revitalize traditional practices and beliefs for contemporary audiences, drawing their attention to their cultural heritage.

Living Lens is a practice-led study that explores interdependencies between performing bodies, visual images and sonic elements through two main areas of investigation: the propensity for the visual mode to be dominant in an interdisciplinary performance environment; and, a compositional structure to integrate performing bodies, visual and sonic elements. To address these concerns, the study necessitated a collaborative team comprising performers, visual artists, sound designers and computer programmers. The poetic title, Living Lens, became an important interpretative device and organising principle in this study, which is weighted 70% for the creative work and 30% for the written component. Working from an experiential and emergent methodology, the research employed two iterative cycles of development. Drawing on a previous work, Patchwork in Motion (2005), the extraction of one fragment entitled Living Lens (2005-6) was selected for further development, specifically to balance the relationship between performers and visual media with a deeper focus on the sonic component. The initial creative development (June-July 2005) addressed the area of interdependencies through the concepts of "poetic felt space" and "living painting", whilst the final stage of the study (June-July 2006) adopted the concept of "worlds within worlds" to facilitate greater contrast and connectivity in the piece. The final performance made partial progress towards shifting visual dominance and the development of an integrative structure, the digital media serving to enhance tangible connections between aural, visual and kinesthetic senses. As an immersive performance installation, the study thus adapts and extends painterly and sculptural sensibilities into a contemporary and interactive arts setting. Presenting a case for the personalised position of the practitioner voice, the study also offers practical and conceptual insights and solutions, to be adopted, adapted or applied tangentially, by other practitioners and researchers working in the domains of body movement practices, visual and sonic arts and human communication technologies.