A Momentous Meeting

I was sitting quietly under an oak tree, watching the shadows of hawks and planes on the field, when this lovely visitor stopped to look me in the eye. I have never seen the deer so close. She was completely unperturbed by my presence. The meeting felt momentous.

The following night I dreamed I saw my future self. I was lost, and she stepped out of a gold door to meet me. I am comforted by this vision. Reassured the woman I will become towards the end of my life is looking out for me, willing me into being.

Coincidentally, this is the same location the falcon, Ruby, visited whilst I was exploring the footsteps of my childhood in A Child's Rumour.

Below, my journey to the field, through the enchanting light.

Following on from this fortuitous encounter with the roe deer I created a book Journeys Through The Enchanting Light:

I am fortunate to live within an hour walking distance from my place of work. This daily commute takes me through fields where foxes pounce over swaying wheat and where Canada geese convene after harvest. I trace the old pathways along stretches of farmland under tangled boughs collecting my thoughts, capturing these images on my phone. Often stopped in my tracks by thorns, a torn shirt sleeve. Occasionally catching sight of a fleeting roe deer.

Sometimes I travel further afield to embrace the woods at Bookham Commons or the ruins of Walsingham Abbey. My spirit reaches there before my eyes do.

In the new world uncontrolled industry permeates the air, while the old world remains under the spell of nature illuminated by the enchanting light.

PREVIEW HERE

Corfe Castle - Isle of Purbeck

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Cat of the Heavens

Cat of the Heavens from Gaynor Perry on Vimeo.

concept, film, & music
composed, performed & produced by
© ℗ Gaynor Perry

Still from Cat Of The Heavens film featuring Amanda Hull as 'Fidella'.

Cat of the Heavens

Since I was a bird I made a nest

I took my light from the stars lying in the snow

I drew my soul from the aquifer below

since I was a bird

All the garages are besieged by vines

ruthless Winter speaks to the worms with an icy tongue

The world and her moon are a theatre for you

so take a spider bite with good grace and spin in space

Cat of the heavens

strange harmony in the hearth light

a watcher in the woods - what are you thinking about?

Fold me into your little paws

I promise not to fly away

Open up, open up, open up

the doors of the sky

The world and her moon are a theatre for you

so take a spider bite with good grace and spin in space

Cat of the heavens

strange harmony in the hearth light

a watcher in the woods - what are you thinking about?

Fold me into your little paws

I promise not to fly away

Cat of the Heavens is the final piece for my album A CHILD'S RUMOUR. I have loved the adventure of creating this body of work. Each song is a real-time audio export of my personal circumstances over the past 5 years ‎intertwined with memories. Losing myself in creating these sounds is invaluable to being self-defined and expression in this field seems to be a vital component of my daily human life. Yet, ultimately, I am a woman wishing to become a bird.‎‎ :-)

Amanda Hull as 'Fidella'

Fidella

"ma'a, the Egyptian word for "truth," which comes into Greek as moira, "fate." The hieroglyphic word is spelled with a ruler, indicating that measurement is the ultimate truth, the cosmic order, the invisible underlying pattern that manifests in geometry, in astronomy, and in sound. The word herw, "sound." The hieroglyph that defines this word is a picture of a lion's tail, suggesting that the essential meaning of the word is not simply sound but the essence of sound, vibration, as the tail of a cat vibrates like a guitar string before the cat strikes its prey. The hieroglyphic word herw is commonly paired with the word ma'a, "truth," as the noble goal of life: one strives at death to have accomplished ma'a herw, not to speak the truth or have a true voice but to be true to the clean underlying pattern of what one is, the ma'a herw–the true vibration, the vibration of truth."

An excerpt from The Dawning Moon of the Mind, unlocking the pyramid texts by Susan Brind Morrow

The Spy & Other Stories

“Often uncanny and verging on unnerving, these beautifully selected black and white shots are rich with a mythical quality all of their own. Perry invites you to share her wonder in the mysteries of nature and folklore, revealing the underlying narratives that she feels so strongly to be true.” – Eleanor Pearce, artist

“The bright shadows left by future dreams once remembered.” – Andrew Back, artist

The Spy & Other Stories

Imagine telling an epic story about 
yourself and the world through your eyes 
that isn't a lie. 

I had some really vivid dreams last night that highlighted to me the power of being inspired by and appreciating nature; how that sense of awe can feel like being lifted into the air, akin to flight. I think wildness came through very strongly and spoke to the wildness in me. 

In one of the dreams, I met a stag and somehow I knew this: If you meet a stag in the heather, and he bows to you, be sure to step to the side before you return a low bow so he will know you revere him in greeting. Otherwise, he will crush your skull with his antlers.

This world is not what it seems, 
and it is certainly not what we are told it is. 
In truth, there is no sense of order here,
 so our little hearts crave stories that glue us together.

Sentinel, St Anne's Well, East Yorkshire

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a solo exhibition by Gaynor Perry

featuring black & white photography

at the Peggy Jay Gallery

Burgh House, New End Square, London NW3 1LT

Wednesday 16 to Sunday 27 May, 2018

Preview: Wednesday 16 May 6.30pm-8.30pm

The exhibition is open 12-5pm

Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays

(nearest tube Hampstead)

event page

www.burghhouse.org.uk

The Unexpected Falcon

We were gifted with an unexpected visit by an unaccompanied falcon whilst making the film for my song 'A Child's Rumour'. We could see from the tags on her legs that her name was Ruby. She arrived in a very timely manner, a bell sounding her arrival; I had just asked the little girl in the film to run around an oak tree, as if to make a spell.

Ruby stayed for a while on the ground, and performing low swoops over our heads. Her raptorial presence amazed and inspired us. She then followed us from above as we walked home through the old, wooded pathways by the fields.

Perhaps our imagination exists beyond ourselves, reaching out for the things we love – and maybe all of nature is listening, waiting for a chance to reach back.

Film here  Album here  More here


Exhibition

The Spy

Portrait of Bourne, Senescent Tree

Portrait of Bert

The Dawn has a lot to Offer

Mädchen - mixed media, hand-made puppet

Goodwood Lambs

Welcome to the world.

Beautiful ewes with their newborn lambs at the Goodwood Estate, West Sussex.  Some of the lambs had just arrived that morning. Above is a distinctive Southdown ewe.

Couldn't ignore this striking couple.

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Pawtgur: It should have been obvious why she was upset, but not to me.
Graphite on paper, 22.9 x 30.5 cm