Beyond Words: An Otherworldly Q+A
In April 2023, I was an artist-in-residence in Lily Dale, NY, the world's oldest and largest Spiritualist community. I brought a collection of handwritten questions from my audience and collaborated with the town's psychic mediums to channel answers from beyond our world. These responses were then reinterpreted by me into the series of artworks you are about to see.
Be sure to click on the audio track next to each artwork to hear the medium respond to the question in their own words.
*This project was made possible by the Normalize Talking to the Dead artist residency at Lily Dale.
01. "How do I know when to leave?"
Oil pastel on paper
18 in x 24 in
"HOW DO I KNOW when to leave? This is what I say: you know when to leave when you can walk out the front door and leave everything behind and not care. . . . We have to live for those moments when everything aligns. We don't get to choose when we leave. A door will open."
- Natalie Scobercia, psychic medium
Click to listen to the full audio below:
02. "Where do I find peace?"
Oil pastel and clock face with acrylic paint on paper
18 in x 24 in
"PEACE IS A RELATIVE term. Some people's peace: a little bit of chaos in there. It's how they like it. It's spicy. . . . Other people: it's like when [a] lake is calm like glass. . . . When all the rest of that drops away, and you're just in a moment where you don't even know what time it is, and you don't care. That's what peace is, just being in that moment. . . . Peace is not about the harp and the cloud. . . . Peace can be playing jazz in their jazz band. . . . People need to stop thinking it's just one box."
- Willa White, psychic medium
Click to listen to the full audio below:
03. "How do I start a new beginning?"
Oil pastel on vintage book, 'The Ascent of Man' by J. Bronowski
10 in x 14 in
"THINK OF SHORT STORIES. . . . because our life becomes a story, and each day is a page, chapter, or verse of that story. And recognize that you will face all of these before your days are completed here. So try not to get impatient. Try to be forgiving. . . . Start a new beginning with each new day."
- Kathleen Boldt, psychic medium
Full audio coming soon!
04. "What do I do with all this anxiety?"
Tea, coffee, spices, and acrylic paint on vintage tablecloths
68 in. round / 5' x 7'
MEDIUM HAVI RICHARDS AND I used a technique called "table tipping" to answer this question. Table tipping is a form of spirit phenomena in which a table rotates, tilts, or levitates to answer yes-or-no questions by mere contact of the participants' fingertips.
Below is a transcript of questions we asked related to, "What do I do with all this anxiety?"
"Does this individual need to change their environment?" YES
"Do they need to change themselves?" NO
"Do they need to talk to a professional about their anxiety?" YES
(A new spirit takes over.)
"Are they going to be okay?" YES
"Should they stay on their current path?" NO
(A new spirit takes over.)
"Yes-and-no's are hard!" YES
(A new spirit takes over.)
"Are you showing off?" YES
"Do they change their profession?" YES
"Or their relationships?" YES
"Is it a romantic relationship?" NO
"Is it friends?" YES
"Is this a long-term process?" YES
(At this point, the table leg breaks.)
Click to listen to the full audio below:
More artwork is on the way!
In the meantime, feel free to browse this photo gallery of images from my time in Lily Dale. It was a profound and transformative experience, and I can't wait to share it with you!
