Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature
An exhibitioN and a Poem
In April 2024, I saw ACMI’s exhibition of Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature. It was mesmerising, a ‘hypnotic immersive experience explor[ing] the rhythm that cultivates and connects all life – breath’.
On one of the display boards was illuminated a poem by Dr Daisy Lafarge. I jotted it down and today, read it again. I’ve read and contemplated it often over the last 8 months. Here is a transcription. Note: I’m not sure whether I’ve spaced it faithfully to the original, nor am I sure whether the first line is the title of the poem. I apologise to the poet for any inaccuracies.
The syllables of starlight
An ancient language of the cosmos
Uttered by grasses and forests, mountains and bodies
From this chorusAn atmosphere is sung into being
Boundless, caressing
These are the tides we live in
Nourishing us inside and out
In ripples and ricochets
Immersing us in abundance
As the world breathes out
Life begins to take shape
A tangle of essences streaming beneath your skin
Blurring the outline of where you end and begin
On this unending journeyTime shades off
Into moments of matter
Breath takes flight, merging and emerging, to an infinite rhythmAnd somewhere in this cascade is you:
Life nested within life
A cell in the body of the EarthDissolving the boundary of who is breathing who
Marshmallow laser feast On our concept of reality
Our concept of reality is entwined with how our bodies are structured to perceive the world. Scientific inquiry, probing the nature of nature, reveals a much broader spectrum of reality that lies beyond our perception.
Under a microscope, a cell appears to breathe halos of light. If we could lie beneath it and look up, we might see how similar a cell is to a star.
By changing our point of view, we begin to realise that we’re as made of stars as we are of cells.
Marshmallow Laser Feast on oneness
Modern science is helping to reveal something Indigenous knowledge has always held to be true – that what is outside of us is not separate from us. This ancient wisdom is needed more than ever today. And it compels us to use our technology to both honour and deepen our intricate relationships with the web of beings, reminding us, with awe, that we are all but extensions of one another.