Katrina O’Brien’s, I Shed My Skin for an Echo on the Wind, is part of her solo exhibition, Dream Letter. 

Katrina says of this work: “Borne out of a love of text, a love of writing and a love of dreaming, Dream Letter is an idealistic notion of being able to talk to the Muse. For me, the Muse comes in many forms; whether it be nature, music, intriguing people and interactions. Each of us has different inspirations and things that spark our imagination. Sometimes we search for that muse, but sometimes it unexpectedly finds us. I am forever enchanted by the Muse and all the realms they open up for me. A good Muse opens the floodgates of words and images where dreams, landscapes, narrative and poetry flow like a river.

“Text is an art form in and of itself. Decoding, flipping and dissecting words and meanings has long fascinated me. The simplicity of some of these works speak to my love of books and a nostalgia for something I can’t quite put to words. I often think of my works as chapters in a book – not made in chronological order but revisiting different parts of a narrative without a clear beginning or end, yet each page, each work is interconnected through an intricate web of dreamscapes.

“When I was younger I would write letters to an unknown person or thing. Within these letters I would muse on the meaning of life and I would recall fascinating observations in nature. I would speak of a love for beauty, for complexity of thought and existential debate. Within each letter contained my love for words themselves—the origin and formation of words were just as curious to me as how language could be structured to make a story, a poem or even a painting. Some of these letters would morph into an idiosyncratic code, indecipherable and yet, made complete sense to me. I would see the world through this lens of enchantment and it is something that I still do to this day.”

Dear Geoffrey,

When I heard your voice it took me to a place I will never forget. Ageless. Ancient. Now. Then. Before and after.

I was lifted out of my body and behold; my eyes saw time play out before me. I felt my way through the ages of times past and times to come. You gave me this great gift. I flew upward, ever upwards, into the heavens, into the great treasury of stars.

Seduce. Arrest. Lay this body down. Let my soul fly into the great expanse beyond the skies; your voice, the skeleton key to open all the cosmic realms.

Signed on front.