Soul Migration, a multimedia installation of image, sound and poetry by Barbaria Maria, will be displayed at Waterfall Arts from May 6 through 27. An opening reception will be held in the Clifford Gallery on Friday May 6 from 5 to 7 pm during which dancers Shana Bloomstein, Katenia Keller and Joan Proudman will perform.

The exhibit includes large images printed on light fabric hung from the ceiling and on the walls, accompanied by text and sound recordings. Barbaria states that “the soliloquies and theme poems were written, or heard, in response to the images, as if the movement in each picture contained a seed of sound and story.”

Of the exhibit, Barbaria relates that images often spark her writing and that she has collaborated with artists and made collages for many years. She describes the images in the show as digital collage which, like poetry, “involve the process of moving images in space, orchestrating combinations that create symbolism and metaphor. Mixing images allows me to directly express subtle layers of perception; not fantasy, but the extraordinary that exists in the ordinary. I want to suggest and illuminate what is palpable but not necessarily visible.”

Barbaria lives in Belfast and is the author of two books of poetry; Crossing Time and Palace Boulevard and a CD called 108 Names-Poems to the Divine with music by Jeff Densmore. She leads creative writing groups and workshops for experienced and new writers and has taught and performed throughout New England.

A gallery talk is scheduled for Tuesday May 17 at 7pm. Admission to the talk is free; donations to Waterfall Arts are greatly appreciated. Barbaria will lead a creative writing workshop, Writing Immersion, on Saturday, May 21st from 10am to 4pm. The group will focus on poetry, prose and story using writing prompts, reading aloud, discussion, memory and the senses, writing from pictures, writing with no idea. All levels of experience are welcome. Space is limited; the cost of the workshop is $85.

Image by Barbara Maria