Moes Pel, Fiona

In this thesis, I explore material and conceptual conversations between the physical and the mystical, the seen and unseen, the visible and not. I outline personal embodied experiences with religious practices and within sacred spaces as a grounding framework for my practice, which has eventually generated drawing through glass. I am asking: how does the metaphysical manifest materially? This research is explored through studio work and theoretical contexts in relation to the phenomena of light as a spiritual experience as well as physical reality. First, I outline the methodological origins of my early work in this program in relation to explicit religious practices within the Protestant Christian tradition. This includes the ABSORPTION of the perception of light as a profound spiritual symbol and potent element of sacred spaces. Re-imagining and reinterpretation of stained glass windows serves as a catalyzing visual vocabulary for this research. I then explain a REFRACTION in my practice that occurs when material consideration is given to the physical properties of light in relationship to glass. This mindfulness of the interactional behaviors of these materials leads to a bending in my practice to focus on researching more specifically the relationship between light and time. Finally, DURATION emerges as a key component of studio research as the shifting of light through time is evidenced in large scale graphite drawings. Ultimately, this text documents my practice and research as a shifting and expanding exploration of the sublime moment in connection with personal subjective spiritual experiences and the multiplicity of time.