PATTERNS OF HABITATION 

 Mary Shackman’s fascination with pattern, the surface manifestation of consciousness is further investigated in her current exhibition “Patterns of Habitation”. The invisible energies of life stream into visible perception in myriads of patterns. The spiralling DNA dictates the pattern of living forms setting the biological clock. Living organisms create unique structures expressed in preordained patterns that, whether geometric or organic, are balanced and harmonious and a source of wonderment. 

Skeletons, feathers, corals, seashells, snowflakes, honeycomb, hives, the nest of birds, animal burrows and dens have fascinated Mary since childhood and found expression in her work. Patterns of human self-consciousness to respond to the discipline of climate, terrain, available material, existing technology and evolving perceptions of function, ambience and sensibility of beauty. 

Concepts of Tao and Feng Shui are potent references. Perception expands as the observer reads and intuits patterns of habitation as a revelation of the life force. Beneath the patterns, the visible surface of phenomenal reality lies a reality beyond words whose vocabulary is pattern and colour, a language expressing the ocean of the subconscious. Mary again intimates this reality as she has in past micro and macro references to mandalas and the expanding cosmos. 

“There is something definite; nothing is random, and it is this specific value of creative intelligence which automatically carries out evolution everywhere.”                                                      The Marharishi, Sydney 1966