SHE WALKS BOTH WORLDS | Mary Jo Mullins

She Walks Both Worlds explores and expresses my relationships with nature, a mixed heritage and the spiritual realm and is structured in three segments. These may be viewed and experienced as much as individual parts as they may as a whole and may be experienced through installation, performance and workshop engagements.

Here online, press play on each of the films to both notice and enjoy the soundscape and visuals, while you view the accompanying photos and read the text and descriptions.

One With Nature

This segment focusses on my relationship with nature, specifallly my meditative almost shamanic approach to communing with it daily. It serves as both a reminder and inspiration to connect, with myself, the elements and the nature that abounds within and around me.

"sense the rhythm in my feather bones" and other textual elements in the film, a soundscore of nature at its finest and flowing water reveal an intense connection to birds, particularly in springtime. This section of the work is rooted in the Sacred Direction I refer to as, The East.

The additional interdisciplinary element of structured improvisational dance, not available online, and the photographs reflect a primordial journey of flowing water to the emergence of a majestic waterbird through energetic activations of sensing, exploration and rhythm.

Walking A Fine Line

This segment focusses on my relationship with a mixed heritage, specifallly my distant indigenous roots. It serves as both a reminder and inspiration to always follow my heart.

"blurry vision enraged by fear of crossing", other textual elements in the film and an intense driving percussive musical accompaniment signify my mental struggles to both accept and integrate my ancestral inheritances. This section of the work is rooted in the Sacred Direction I refer to as, The West.

The additional interdisciplinary element of structured improvisational dance, not available online, and the photographs reflect a difficult passage through energetic activations of navigation, melody, balance and acceptance.

Ancestor Speak

This segment focusses on my relationship with the spiritual realm, specifically my communication with the ancestors and the messages they bring. It serves as both a reminder and inspiration to honour my past, present and future self.

"a vine grows to reveal the memory that stillness moves", other textual elements and an airy soundscore suggesting vast expanses of space reveal a dreamlike state of consciousness. This section of the work is rooted in the Sacred Direction I refer to as, The North.

The additional interdisciplinary element of structured improvisational dance, not available online, and the photographs reflect interconnection through energetic activations of belonging and knowing.

Premiere:

April 2nd 2023

Green Earth

The landscape of my life has always made significant imprints on my being, like tatoos on my psyche, memories in my heart and...

I am a western girl, born in Calgary, Alberta where travelling under land bridges for animals on route to Banff and enjoying a picnic on Lake Minnewanka was family time. Growing up in the Niagara Region meant frequent excursions to Niagara Falls and the Niagara Escarpment to entertain family and friends and to attend reunions at Queenston Heights where the family ties ran very deep. The summers of my youth were immersed in the Kawartha Lakes in Ontario. For these blessings of early life, I am eternally grateful.

Deeply and intimately connected with my environment and inspired by the beauty and power of land, body and nature,

I create expressions of dance, photography and | or film, seeking to integrate life and art, make meaningful connections between my self and my environment and to share the beauty of the world that surrounds me.

Now living near Pelee Island in Ontario, I immerse myself in The Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.