Words : Lyz Mancini
VNDL: What is your first artistic memory?
RG: I used to sit in a kind of meditation pose, not that I knew the name for it back then, this is when I was about 7 or 8. Then I would pick up a pencil and a piece of paper, close my eyes and start drawing.
If you had to describe your vision in five words, what would they be?
Mapping the infinite and invisible.
You work with holographic projections, meditation, rituals, symbols, and ancient civilizations, what about these mysterious things speak to you specifically?
I guess it is the idea that there is more than the physical. In a way I feel like I’m on a search for truth, so anything that resonates with me deeply I become interested in. This can be anything from a concept in science, an ancient temple plan or a poem.
A lot of your inspiration revolves around meditation and out of body experiences. What is your practice or ritual?
I don’t have a specific practice as such, but I do meditate regularly. Sometimes just as a way to connect with myself and be more in the present moment. But on occasions these have become quite profound journeys.
What kinds of things have you learned through astral projection?
The main thing I have learned from any kind of meditation practice is that everything is connected. The plants, the animals, humans, the earth, the stars, the universe; it is all part of the same thing. This is why I don’t believe in eating meat, or going to war, or destroying the ecology of the planet.
What about these experiences inspire you artistically?
The experience that beyond the physical world which we experience in normal perception there are deeper and more subtle elements, this what I try to explain or depict in my art works.
What do you hope people take away from your work?
I don’t need people to understand the meaning behind the works. What I would hope for is that someone might see something in it that inspires them, moves them in someway or just for a moment makes them perceive something differently. 
How do you see your art evolving over time? What do you want to explore next?
I would really like to start working on a larger scale, I have a lot of ideas for big sculptural and installation works that would completely immerse the viewer.
How does your art work influence your fashion or style choices?
I’m not sure. I have quite often been told that what I am wearing looks like one of my drawings, although I am not doing that consciously.
If you could design a perfect room for you to work in, what would it include?
Lots of space would be the main thing, but also lots of light, high ceilings, lots of wall space, a big drawing table and bookshelves. Oh, and big windows so that I can look up at the sky.
There is an ethereal and otherworldly feel to your pieces, what visually inspires you in the world?
I think that there are visually inspiring things everywhere. I spend a lot of time admiring the light hitting a glass and refracting onto the table, or scaffolding casting a shadow onto a building, or the sky. Or the way the sunlight hits a mirror and makes a rainbow on the floor of the bathroom, or the transparent leaves dangling from a tree, or particles of dust flying around the room. The halo effect that the light makes around a street lamp at night, or the patterns of rain on a window pane. I think everything, even the most mundane things can be incredibly beautiful and inspiring if you look at them at the right angle.
Check out more of Rachel’s work at her website www.rachelgarrard.com
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