Incantations on view at Riverfront Art Gallery

 Riverfront Art Gallery Presents

‘When Color Is Not Enough'

Opening Saturday June 20th 2-5pm 
Exhibition Dates: June 20-Sept 26, 2026

Location:
Riverfront Art Gallery
 Yonkers Public Library, 1 Larkin Center 4th Floor, Yonkers, NY 10701

914-308-7072  •  thegallery@ypl.org  •  https://www.ypl.org

Excerpt from Incantations - M.Gilliland ©2025 - 3 channel video - 10:00 running time

view on vimeo

https://vimeo.com/1146248666

https://vimeo.com/markgilliland

Incantations

Incantations is a new three channel video piece (10:00 run time) that makes use of lots of the processed video clips I've been building up in the studio over the last year. In particular, it is based upon my favorite Prayer Wheel footage showing a close up of the rotating mantras on the wheel's surface. The very nature of the prayer wheel when intentionally rotated spreads its mantra (Tibetan glyphs on the wheel itself) outward, envisioned as a spiral flow of blessings into the environment at large. This is the underlying prayer incantation, often accompanied by ritual chanting or music.

A series of visual themes came into focus in roughly three groupings:

Maya - delusions of the world: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mind

Dharma - path & practice: Ritual, Mantra, Meditation

Karma - cycles of life: Death, Bardo, Rebirth, Redux

As I worked on a range of variations of these themes, I realized what would be really interesting would be to present the footage (set into a vertical aspect ratio as determined by the original prayer wheel footage) on a series of side-by-side vertical monitors. Thus, there could be simultaneous variations and visually repeat rhythms across the channels not possible on a single channel display. The basic presentation configuration is three HD display panels side-by-side, visually mimicking the way multiple prayer wheels are often mounted side-by-side in a temple compound so that a visiting perambulator can walk past the row of prayer wheels and simply activate (turn) each in turn. Although the digital displays don’t offer that level of hands-on interactivity, a complex meditational space can still be achieved.

In order to present the 3 channel video in this online context, I recorded all three simultaneously as one HD program. 

This program is too large file-wise and really deserves a higher definition encoding than provided by Blogger. So, please view the complete program on my Vimeo site:

Incantations - https://vimeo.com/1146248666

source Prayer Wheel image

Spirits Floating - a Selection of Processing Outtakes for River Styx

While entitled as "Spirits Floating", perhaps these should be seen as experiences of the Astral Plane, Dreamtime, Bardo, awakening from deep sleep, or near-death / post-death transition? Selection of mainly digital processing outtakes for River Styx video program. 

Done with a number of different SW apps in my toolbox (and often with rescanning) applied to various segments of found video footage.

Spirit Fire Dance

I have started working on footage for a larger video project entitled "Crossing the Styx"... As you might imagine based upon the Greek myth, this will be about the Underworld, Bardo, Dreamtime... About crossing over. More details and samples as I develop the script further. Suffice to say in a section involving Shamanic journeying, I plan to use found footage of UTE fire dancers. The samples below show some of the processing that I am achieving using a really nice Mac-based video synthesis app called LUMEN.

 

ETC Sample Footage: Rowing on a Lake of Flames

This is an example of footage I compiled and processed at ETC under the topic heading of 'rowing a boat' to eventually make use in a video about death, Bardo, and spiritual transition - the core symbolism of rowing being from the Greek myth of the Boatman Acheron rowing newly deceased souls across the River Styx into the Hell realms.

Bill Tavis has performed his fractal halftone mapping on my Tara / Dakini diptych resulting in a wonderful GIF animation. Thanks again!

You can read about the source artwork here: Tara Variations.

See more of Bill Tavis's stuff on his Tumblr.

In Memory of Armand

It's hard to unexpectedly lose a long-time buddy, fellow artist, DIY craftsman, avid gardener, husband, father... Our thoughts are with your lovely wife and daughter.

Be well, my friend, on your journey.

Dreamtime Hiroshima

I came across this image processed thru a Deepdream filter - in honor of the souls lost during the two atomic bombs detonated over Japan in 1945. Let loose the dogs of war?

unprocessed

processed

Buddha Self via Dreamscope

More art images passed thru various Deep Dreaming filters. Interesting results.

Happy New Year 2015

Here is my New Years card for this new year...

What do you want? (Dance of the Skeletons)

Official video for the song What Do You Want? from the Gotye album Boardface

Animated and directed by Lucinda Schreiber
Lucinda on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/user1657924

*******************************************
What do you want?
What do you want from us?
To ask you this much is just a matter of trust
Not an affront
What do you want?

Few here'd be true to your point of view
If they knew
What you want
Who here would choose
To walk in those shoes
Even you can't

So what do you want?
What do you want from us?

What do you want
What do you want that you cannot say?
Show us the faith we're supposed to display
Come what may...
You can't!

So what do you want?
What do you want from us?
It's a matter of trust
That you tell us just
What you want from us

Psychedelic Skull

Here's one from Skull-a-Day blog:

347. Skulledelic A.K.A. May Cause Seizures Skull

Skulls and Wings - a rorschach visual or Bardo dream?

Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2011 Scarves Film from Alexander McQueen on Vimeo - a short film created by Paris-based director/photographer Babette Pauthier. (wait for video to load...)

BARDO - Awakening from the Dream

A short overview of the importance and meaning of Bardo. "Life is a training for death." 

The Magic of the Spirit Realm

I periodically meditate on the issue of iconography (physical/visual form) and how this relates to the Buddhist notion that everything is MIND, everything is ONE (and so forth) according to deepest Buddhist teachings. Within these traditions, there is an understanding of the surface (apparent) truth and of deeper (hidden) esoteric truths. In the case of a figure such as Tara, she is seen as a female embodiment of the Buddha. Of course, ultimately, there is only one Buddha MIND such that everything is encompassed. To speak of Tara as a differentiated figure is thus somewhat misleading. Although she presents herself that way to the practitioner/meditator, deep down, it's all mind energy of the ONE (voidness)... Likewise, when the Buddhist teaching of death and rebirth are examined, the Bardo teachings, it is explicitly said that what you experience after death is based upon your expectations. The demons and protectors of the Bardo realm are a mental construct. Self projection of the mind's delusions.

Read more ->

Wheel of Life - Bhutan Dreaming

The design is based upon the Wheel of Life thangka format. Many of the source images are from Bhutan. It is a commission for a teaching image - didactic in intent - concerning sustainable living. The assignment was to put such "modern" information into a framework (design) that would be easily recognized and read by a typical Bhutanese viewer.

The parts of the Wheel are are follows:

The inner circle shows the cock, the snake and the wild boar symbols - symbols of lust, bodily needs, ego. The inner ring shows "good karma" and "bad karma" effects - with the good karma leading to eventual Buddhahood.

The middle ring (consisting of 6 large slices) traditionally shows scenes for the 6 realms. In this case, I have shown realms relating to ecological living: green sustainability vs. out-of-control development & resulting pollution. Starting at the top running counter clockwise: a view of Bhutan today with mountains and lake; the landscape with sustainable energy (windmills and solar arrays); a waterfall and pristine glacial river with prayer flags; mountain poppies in a meadow; a view of lake/river pollution and uncontrolled discharge; a view of air pollution from factories and burning forests.

Around the Wheel's outer ring is Yama - Lord of Death / Karma.

I also placed some local fauna (birds and leopard) around the outside along with a traditional offering symbol.

So, this is my first attempt at creating a didactic visual that can be used to tell a specific story (contrasting two possible approaches / outcomes -> sustainable vs. current madness). Which path will Bhutan take into their future?

They talk of GNH - Gross National Happiness, so I imagine they will maintain the beauty of their land and the stewardship of it by continuing in a sustainable approach to living.

Jewel Tree Visualizations

New work for the New Year - a series based upon the Jewel Tree visualization practice outlined in "The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism" by Robert Thurman.

Bodhisattva Jewel Tree

Tara Jewel Tree

Kalachakra Jewel Tree

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If you are interested in the book "The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism" by Robert Thurman - which I highly recommend, here is a link to it on Amazon.

On the nature of perception, illusion and hyper-dimensionality: DMT Art

Roger Essig - "DMT Entity"

Alex Grey - "Light Weaver"

"Most folks experience an overwhelming sense of being in contact with one or more entities while under the influence of DMT - entities which are 'natural', unavoidable real, but startlingly alien. Perhaps not friendly or malicious, seemingly insightful & knowledgeable yet beyond emotion. This aspect of the experience is what takes it beyond simple mental pattern projection upon 'quantum perceptual noise'... It's the utter strangeness, the self-contained self-defining self-evolving properties of the experience that makes the entities accepted as 'real'."

- partial (updated) comment that I posted today on "Singing to the Plants" blog in response to Steve Beyer's posting "Thoughts on DMT Art." Check out the samples of great visionary art and read Steve's full article.

Maitreya - the Future Buddha

According to Buddhist teachings, at some point in the near future, another great Buddha will return to Earth to ensure the transition from a realm of delusion and Bardo to a Pure Realm of Bliss. This future Buddha's name is Maitreya.

In a meditation early this summer I was given a message that the time for major world change would soon arrive. That there would be a sign in the (south)west this fall or early winter which would unmistakably signal the start of the transition period. As I posted yesterday, this sign is obvious to all who take a few moments to look to the moon (in the southwest) at sunset - the conjunction.

Last night I took a photo in which one can clearly see the triangular conjunction with the moon to the top left, to the top right is Jupiter and at the bottom center lies Venus. From this I created a simple thangka of Maitreya as a dharma protector. May the energies of love and compassion guide you and protect you through chaotic times. May wisdom be your light.