Erin Laye's Response to Azimuth Nitehi

A Place to Rest - by Erin Laye

 Dallas Flett-Wapash & Taylor McArthur’s “Azimuth Nitehi” 

 Poolside Gallery,  Nov 5 - Dec 10 2021

We are all just particles, drifting this way and that, with no clear place to go. In the installation "Azimuth Nitehi" you begin to embody the void and explore the outer reaches of a universe reminiscent of the milky way. The difference between our galaxy and this one is that the cold vacuum of space that we are familiar with, has become illuminated and brought to life by the particles within it. Enter this augmented reality where you are your heartbeat, and the average sum of all of the heartbeats around you. The inward force that connects you to the rest of humanity is brought outward.

“Azimuth Nitehi” is a virtual space fabricated by artists Taylor McArthur and Dallas Flett-Wapash, and can be experienced both in the gallery or from a device at home. Once you enter you are greeted with a series of texts, one line reading “Azimuth Nitehi is a safe online experience.” Being in the space and experiencing the work with others, there is a palpable warmth and vitality. The constant beating of the collective hearts puts you in a meditative state, a safe place where your parasympathetic nervous system has a place to rest, a place to revive and renew. This parallel universe begins to feel like a safe space to explore, float, and just be. What a gift to just be and exist for a moment.

Listen to your heartbeat and the familiar yet distant memory of the sound. Listening to the constant beating of the heart sparks a series of internal queries. When was the last time you really heard your own heartbeat? When was the last time you heard someone else's? Is this strange sense of calm a long-gone feeling of safety? Does this feeling remind us of the last time we had our heads pressed against another's chest, the safety of the cocoon that is a loved one's arms, or tucked away in our mother's wombs? All these instances are deeply intimate and vulnerable experiences that we as humans long for and are often deprived of. Invite yourself to open up and listen, forget your physical form and interact with other beings in the virtual space free of judgement. 

As a being in the modern world, there is little reprieve from everyday pressures. Often when faced with technology you think of burn-out and being virtually connected, but physically apart. This work is a testament to the digital age, which has only grown more isolating since the pandemic began in 2020. Bridging the gap between our embodied senses and the often cool callousness of technology, “Azimuth Nitehi” invites you to settle in and let your guard down. This is a safe space created just for you and the journey is your own.