Exhibition: Krilly Moon Snail's Explores Alternate Encodings of Reality Through 'Water Worlds' at Vaayu

It is no secret that we have long been enchanted by the legend of the archetypal waterman – who, as Rahul Malaney concisely sums up, ‘a human being that feels completely comfortable in the ocean no matter what the conditions are like’. Unmistakably one amongst these elemental beings who avidly responds to the call of the ocean himself, he was joined by Jill Ferguson, who subscribes to a similar lifestyle that transgresses the generation’s consumerist trappings to respect the mighty and selfless ocean – and the environment – for the phenomenon that it is.

Together, they embarked upon the journey that is Vaayu, as much about creating a water sports-cum-accommodation centre, as it is a social and cultural breeding ground for environmental awareness, art, passion and ultimately, creating a community that prompts even the wandering visitor to question the ‘kind of impact they want to have on this planet’.

After clocking in highly intriguing art showcases with ‘Migrating Whales and Other Stories’ by Sachin Shetty and ‘Street Art Excursion with Inkbrushnme’, Vaayu is now hosting the works of Krilly Moon Snail’s series ‘Water Worlds’ on Feb 22nd.

‘A few years ago some close friends began calling me Krilly because I was ingesting large quantities of a superfood called marine phytoplankton,” the Australian-born artist says, when asked about the story behind the name. “Which is the same snack that krill munch on all day in the ocean.

“As for the rest of my name...the Moon Snail is a rather delightful creature I bumped into whilst kayaking in the Clayquot sound of Vancouver Island. I found the creature to be so hilarious that I simply had to carry it around in my name as a reminder of the cosmic joke. Basically this snail is so lumpy and huge that it doesn’t fit in its own shell...what is the point of the shell at all? And life feels like that in so many ways when one operates within the confines of what society deems to be reality.”

With a deep-seated interest in spirituality and consciousness, Krilly shares that the majority of the experiences she has pursued have been driven by an innate desire to understand the limitations that humans as individuals, and societies, place upon their perception and subsequent experience of reality.

“The reason I have been so interested in consciousness and ‘reality’ is because I have experienced extra-terrestrial and inter-dimensional consciousness for as long as I can remember,” she shares. “Obviously when one starts telling people these sorts of things, it becomes apparent that certain reality percepts are rejected by collective consciousness. I mean, when is a good time to announce to your family that you spent the night cruising around on another planet with a couple of beings who looked kind of like manta rays on legs? It doesn’t go well with breakfast for some reason. So naturally, I grew pretty curious about these limitations that have been imposed upon human consciousness. This curiosity was catalysed by the frustration of attending a strict Catholic school, and led me to study psychology in college, attend bible studies with Jehovah’s Witnesses, meditate with Brahma Kumaris and learn energy cultivation techniques like kung fu, yoga, pranic healing, reiki and plant medicine journeys. A result of looking through all of these different periscopes of reality is that one begins to understand that the rules governing the way reality operates are arbitrary, and very malleable.”

A lot Krilly’s work involves elements of the animal kingdom, and when asked about this, she responds, “Animals and plants are not subject to the same overactive mindstorm predicament that humans are, so they’re highly telepathic. In times where I am closest to my centre with a silent mind, I have enjoyed amazing connections with animals and plants. The energy of this kind of connection is multi-layered and far beyond the constraints of verbal communication. So I use animals as a ‘closest fit’ analogue to illustrate elements of particular ET visitations. Either the energy behind the experience is in some way similar, or the appearance of the extra-terrestrial reminds me of the animal in some way.”

Our ears perking up at the mention of extra-terrestrial life forms, we just had to know more.

“So for as long as I can remember I have seen UFOs, had out-of-body experiences where I end up on a spacecraft, on a foreign planet or in a body that is not human, and have had visitations from a myriad life forms that are not native to Earth,” she shares. “For example, a piece in my upcoming show called ‘Cosmonautilus’ illustrates an out-of-body journey I had, where I visited a temple on another planet. In the temple, a huge dark blue coloured being with a peculiar beaked head was blowing universes out of his mouth and through his hands like bubbles. After I had watched this for some time, he reached toward me and projected energy into my ear. I woke up back in my body feeling pretty amazing after that and wanted to share the energy with others. ETs are largely depicted in popular culture as these blood thirsty human-crushers, and while I’m sure that reality potential exists too there are obviously infinite benevolent beings to connect with!”

The influence of collective consciousness in her art is quite evident, and when we enquire about how it affects her visuals, she explains that collective consciousness is, to her, a series of conditions imposed on individual reality perception.

“These conditions only exist in the mind, which runs the conditions over and over in the background of our consciousness so we don’t even know we are operating with limitations,” she says. “Collective consciousness has influenced my art, therefore, by being a constant motivator to be in the infinite present. My visuals are inspired from experiences outside of the limitations of collective consciousness.”

Her exhibition at Vaayu, named ‘Water Worlds’, is a celebration of the infinite, and she deigned to tell us a little bit about how she went about conceptualising this.

“The concept flowed together very organically and was not planned,” she explains. “I arrived in Goa with the intention of having the best day ever every day, and painting in that state. That is exactly what happened, thanks to this beautiful diverse planet and the amazing people I am surrounded by at all times.”

Dabbling in subject matter that by far surpasses the limitations of reality that most of us are used to, Krilly elaborates further on her ideologies, “How we experience reality is a choice. We chose to be born on this planet. We chose our parents and the country of birth, and the specific limitations of our life experience because we are all here to grow and learn some things, and expand our consciousness. What I just wrote might offend some people because a lot of humans and other beings are having a really rough time right now. But if our current experience is someone else’s fault, then we don’t empower ourselves to change the present.”

Krilly believes that this is all better said by the likes of Jiddu Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi, Osho, Sadhguru.

“This country is so rich in expanded consciousness! For those preferring an extra-terrestrial insight, check out Darryl Ankar channelling Bashar or Barbara Marciniak channelling pleiadians. Let’s get infinite and see how much love we can hold within our vibrations and the vibrations of this planet!”