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| Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, Gunyah AIR September 2023 |
I loved being at The Gunyah, I treated it as a bit of a solo retreat, both getting respite from my busy life in urban Sydney, and from having to think beyond the limitations of my own disability and M.S., as I normally live with three others in a Buddhist community. To have everything I needed right there, in such a beautiful natural setting, just the sound of lapping water, birds, my materials, and my thoughts. There was a deepening of absorption and clarity around certain ideas such as what I ‘think is expected of me’ and what I want to do, (... there's nothing like getting away to get that clear!) and an experience of being free from expectations, which I feel everyone should feel occasionally.
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| Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023 |
I also gained some clarity and insights into my topic of the Cosmos as seen through the James Webb telescope, and into mythology and art in general:
"Galaxies are unthinkable, but they have at their core principles that I can connect with, presence and mystery. They are just there, factually vast, unimaginable - that means beyond what we can imagine- but I personally feel I need to try… Not to contain and control my conception, but to embiggen it (it’s actually a word from the late 19th century popularised by the Simpson’s). The edge of the swirling galaxy of the world picks me up in and carries me in reflection to another place."
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| Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023 |
I'm so grateful to the selectors and the committee, hope one day to come again, although I wonder how accessible I will find it in the future - this time it was heavenly.
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| Aaron Aryadharma Matheson, sketch, Gunyah AIR September 2023 |
Gunyah residency report, September 2023
Aaron Aryadharma Matheson
