In this digital age, our bodies operate as both biology and machine, occupying physical and virtual spaces simultaneously. In the installation Moonwatch from Rebecca Burrell and Kevin Noonan, viewers explore both realities through multiple senses. Participants lay on artificial grass, layered over natural grass, strewn with pillows and blankets. They look up to view a film projected onto a large-scale screen featuring digital representations of natural spaces—trees, and the moon as it slowly sails through the night sky—layered with vivid abstract organic forms.

The screen is suspended horizontally in the air, occupying the viewers’ full field of vision. Audio speakers on two sides of the installation cloak the participant in original digital music. As the encampment is free of walls, the trees and night air remain available to the senses. In Moon-watch, the viewer accesses real nature sandwiched by representations of nature. This work is experienced fully through the body; a quiet, contemplative moment immersing the viewer in light, color, sound and vibration.

The video work is part of a popular series that has been screened regularly in Portland, Oregon, inspired by the psychedelic liquid light shows of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Created with oil, water and food coloring, the natural matter is then digitally manipulated and layered with digital feed-back. It has been screened as a backdrop at events and concerts and on cable access television. Sharing this work at Paseo 2023 will bring this concept out-of-state and outdoors for the first time. A one-time resident of New Mexico, Taos is where Rebecca launched her career in the arts as a very young person, an experience that remains an influence on her life and work.

About the artist: 

Rebecca Burrell is a mid-career arts administrator and an emerging interdisciplinary artist. Based in her hometown of Portland, Oregon, she is currently a graduate student at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her artwork creates sensory experiences that bring awareness to the body and its relationships to internal and external worlds.

Kevin Noonan is an artist, musician and video producer currently living in Portland, Oregon.