The Gentle Oraclebird is a narrative exploration of kindness, using ritual and storytelling, and a new divination mechanism inspired and derived from the Chinese tradition of "lottery sticks," tarot decks, and carnival-based fortune telling mechanisms. The adjoining installation, the Oraclebird's Labyrinth, is a meditation space.
As an artist and builder, I am fascinated by the human impulse to create order and meaning by creating ritual, especially in a difficult and unstable universe. A gentle and considerate fiction, the Oraclebird is a character created to offer a considerate and tender fortune for those who may need an encouraging word.
More images, including the build process, are available in my blog post documenting the installation.
The audience-participant tosses the twig ball into the divination pit. When the ball falls into one of the bowls, the audience member picks out a card from the wall that corresponds with the label on the bowl.
The card tells a fortune.
Printed from handpainted watercolour illustrations, each card contained a kind and gentle fortune.