INSTALLATION, PERFORMANCE & RITUAL

ANIMATE EARTH - GATEWAY TO THE SKY - 2021
Pine tree totem, burned, white pigments, serpentine rock, 4 pine benches in a circle
height 18’ / diameter 22’

Site-specific art installation created in collaboration with the Middletown Art Center and the Land Trust of Lake County.

Coming into right relationship with the EARTH, ourselves and each other is at the core and an intention of this site-specific art installation that honors and connects to all living beings, the earth-elements and the sky. This installation invites visitors to reflect, meditate and communicate with the LAND, the SKY and the STARS above. Finding our place in the world and being in right relationship with the natural world has been honored in many native traditions. The ancestral wisdom and voices of those who have lived before us still resides in the land and the sky above. Staying connected to these voices and to the wisdom of the elders allows us to realize our oneness with nature and all of creation.

RESURRECTION - 2019
3 burned oak tree pieces within a circle of river rocks created for the 2019 ECO ARTS Sculpture Walk of Lake County
This installation, created from the remains of an ancient Oak Tree, invites remembrance and gratitude for the beings and trees that inhabited this land. In giving attention to the scarred and wounded landscapes of our planet we invite nature to receive our sincere apologies, so healing can occur for humans and the natural world. Celebrating and shaping a future that is sustainable and rooted in a co-creative partnership with nature is the essence of this art piece.   

BURNING HEARTS - 2019  
Original dance performance by Reena L. Desai and Marcus Maria Jung - April 2019, Highways, Santa Monica
This original dance performance piece was co-created by Reena L. Desai, Marcus Maria Jung and Doris ‘Bea’ Wolz-Cohen and was performend at Highways Performance Space on April 20th 2019 as part of Seelenbleibe - Soul’s Dwelling presented by Bea’s Soul Theater.

CIRCLE OF ELDERS - 2011  
Circle of 9 Oak Tree pieces created for the 2011 ECO ARTS Sculpture Walk of Lake County
This sculptural installation invites us into the mysteries of circles in nature. The Circle is an invitation to experience and imagine anew the relationship between space & time, past and present, and to inspire a sacred partnership between humans and the natural world. The Circle, was created and defined as a sacred space, to reconsider and experience our deep and mysterious connection with nature. Visitors of the installation are able to walk around the perimeters and enter at any point into the center of the Circle, which serves as a portal from the physical to the non-physical or spiritual world. Collaborating with nature through art and ritual is realized in this art installation as an invitation for people to enter the mystery of the Circle. These encounters leave us transformed and renewed in a deep sense and experience of who we really are. The name for this installation Circle of Elders signifies reverence and an honoring of those who came before us. Ancestors who gathered in circles, as native tribes, communities and wisdom keepers who were deeply connected to nature and honored the cycles of life, death and rebirth in ritual and prayer.

CIRCLE ON FIRE - 2013
A circle of 9 oak trees, with the centerpiece set on fire. Public dance and ritual art performance as an offering to the 4 Elements - March 2013, Malibu, California
This art Installation and fire ritual is created and performed as a symbol for igniting the fire within as we observe, participate and experience the power of purification and transformation generated through destruction. The Circle of Fire serves as a powerful gateway for people to transition into a new alignment with their true and authentic self. To experience and to become one with the elements of nature (earth/water/fire/air) is an integral part of this art performance. This performance was designed as a collaborative event where art, artists and participants become one to create a space to bring about a new consciousness that is arising as an opportunity for all of humanity at this time on planet earth. The art performance, installation and this fire ritual was held on the evening of March 30, 2013 as part of the Bridge to the Soul new exhibition cycle, featuring art inspired by Rumi, curated by Art 4 All People in Malibu, CA.

RETURN OF THE ELDERS - 2016
Circle of 9 Oak Tree pieces originally created for the 2011 ECO ARTS SCULPTURE WALK of LAKE COUNTY
In this art Installation and 3rd staging of the Circle of Elders the return signifies a larger circles that comes to a close. The circle went through a process of death and rebirth and so did the landscape and region where the circle originated. The installation was part of the Ashes to Art Exhibition in September 2016 at the MIDDLETOWN ART CENTER and is on view until May 2017. After that the Circle was be shown at BEAVER CREEK WINERY, Middletown, California (June 2017 - 2019).