I was kindly invited to be part of the Fresh Off The Float project by Palm Ave Float Club that barter trades floatation for art.
The float brought me to different places. I was in a hidden and ancient step well, where some ladies were chanting in an unknown language and splashing me with dew from the fresh leaves.
What could it all mean?
I have always been curious about floatation and this was a wonderful opportunity to find out more. A concrete and white vast space filled with relaxing tones welcomed me. Elfe, a super helpful staff attended to me. While waiting for a room to be ready, I leaned against the comfortable cushion seats and grabbed an encyclopedia book about the wonders and mysteries off the shelf to read. Shortly, I was ushered into the room.
There lies an enclosed tub of water filled with Epsom salt. I showered and got in forgetting to switch off the room light in the process. While inside, a calming blue light came on and 10 mins of relaxing music eased me into my consciousness.
This is the moment where it gets interesting. Just like a television, my consciousness brought me to different scenes. The first scene was the clearest of all of them – In a hidden step well in India, I strolled along the waters watching the preparation of a festival. As the night progressed, I was part of this ritual where maidens or priestess sprinkled dew all over me with flowers.
All of a sudden, like a spoilt television, my visions flickered before my second vision came on. I am now in Spain, lost and wandering. I see a man strumming his guitar and singing in a captivating language I couldn’t understand. He made eye contact, telling me to stay and listen. It felt like a long forgotten memory.
Soon it switched again to a noisy but lively place (I believe, I'm still in Spain), and all I could hear was “Come by! Come by!”
The familiar relaxing music I heard at the beginning started playing again, signalling the end of the floatation session. I got out of the tub and showered. I sat down in the waiting area thereafter, browsing through a sketchbook filled with other patrons' experiences. Someone had experienced the floatation fully in colours and another felt like he/she had traveled to the galaxy.
Elfe comes by with tea. We chatted about my experience and she kindly shared her own experiences with me.
I was very pumped and eager to create the artwork as the scenes stayed vivid in my mind, especially the hidden step wells. I reflected as I was illustrating.
It all made sense. While in that relaxed state, my mind was processing images, clips, sounds and information stored in my brain. Rapidly mixing and creating scenes as if it was reality, as if I was there. The lines were blurred. These were from movies, memories and music. Things I have seen, heard and experienced. That was quite a magical experience and I felt very amazed with our human mind.
