Way Beyond program Serena Gelb New York, USA Drawing, Painting www I am curious about identity and how our core relationships affect how we see ourselves and interact with the world both consciously and subconsciously. Much of my current work dives into my relationships with my deceased mother and current partner, peering into the idealized, the mundane, and the points of tension between the two. My paintings straddle the internal and external - not necessarily caring to differentiate between them. Color is a tool I use to evoke emotion and energy. The figures and objects I choose to paint act as mirrors and personal guides. Through painting, I get to explore individual realities and slowly find my own way. Wenxiao Ding China Interactive Installation, Game Design, Graphic design www I am a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in New York, working at the intersection of interactive technology, storytelling, and public space. My practice spans from experimental games and installations to video works, often centered around themes of agency, dreams, and the overlooked beauty of ordinary objects. I approach interaction not only as a method of participation but as a poetic language for exploring complex emotional and societal systems. My recent works focus on tactile interfaces and alternative controllers that invite people to play, reflect, and reconnect with their environments. Jennifer Goebner Pennsylvania, USA Photography www "Obscurum per obscurius, ignotum per ignotius!" Jennifer Goebner is an artist who explores the bifurcations of consciousness by venturing into the unknown. Her methodology is guided by intuition, research, experimentation, and cultural context. Jennifer seeks to choreograph a dance between ephemeral phenomena and a sense of permanence within the morphing eternal. She translates and preserves the dimensional narratives of self and collective memory through the timeless lens of photographic expression. Robbie Kelleher Dublin, Ireland Writing, Medicine, Neuroscience "Ag lorg fhírinne an anama" There is so much yet to be understood about the mind, the brain, consciousness, the soul, existence - I am deeply enamoured with all of these mysteries. My education since childhood was always very science-heavy, and lead me to studying medicine and neuroscience at university. It was in studying the brain that I was confronted with the topic of consciousness, and the reality of how little the brain is understood by the scientific community. Since then I have become interested in our nature as physical, mental and spiritual beings, the quantum nature of reality, and spiritual traditions from around the world. In the context of health and wellbeing, I am very interested in mental health, death, love, sex, suicide, trauma, and traditional and holistic modalities of care. I am looking forward to my time at Arteles, to meeting people and having deep discussions on all these important topics, and hearing different perspectives and stories. I started writing a few years ago as a necessity to process life and my past - I hope that I can cultivate more confidence in my own artistic voice and self expression in this month amongst talented and creative people. Sláinte.

May Chih-Wei Tu Taipei, Taiwan Drawing Ceramics www "The beauty of all things is captured before your eyes, and creativity blossoms from the heart." I am a visual artist based in Taiwan. My primary mediums are Eastern materials, including ink painting, mineral pigment , and ceramics. In my recent works, I consciously infuse high-frequency energy, positive vibrations, to convey beauty—those things we cannot physically see. Through my art, I aim to transmit these unseen energies. I believe that art can bring a better quality of life. During the residency, I will co-create with the land and nature—not to paint traditional landscapes, but to receive, sense, and record the “energies” and “messages” they convey. This journey is a cross-cultural spiritual exploration, guided by meditation, deep connection with nature, and the creation of symbolic totems. Johnny Tang Cambridge, USA Photoo, Video www "Somewhere between eye candy and mind candy is where I want my work to live." Johnny Tang (b. 1985) creates an east meets west style of surreal and cinematic imagery. Following in the tradition of the Surrealists photographers such as: Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Lee Miller and more recently Sandy Skoglund. Somewhere between eye candy and mind candy is where the artist wants his work to live, and his process is all about finding that balance. While in science we use photography to better our understanding of our physical world. As an artist, Tang uses photography to better understand our emotional and spiritual world. NiFe Lucey-Brzoza USA Multidisciplinary, Performance, Film, Photography www NiFe (Jennifer) Lucey-Brzoza is a multidisciplinary artist and designer whose practice explores internal and external landscapes through performance, dance, photography, film, music, installation, and experiential works. Any/Her uses immersive durational practices to illuminate intricate pathways of universal belonging. NiFe’s research centers on affect manifestation and embodied ways of perceiving, investigating connection and the transference of wisdom beyond language. Any/Her explores sanctuary, ritual, queer sacredness, identity, and vulnerability as pathways to resilience, both individually and collectively, while drawing from a lineage of artists who engage in translating the ineffable through communion with the beyond. NiFe believes resilience is born from empathy for shared experience and the faith that we are not alone. When we cradle this knowing, we are whole, and so is the world we create. Carrie J Cole USA Theatre, Creativity, Intuitive studies "Now. My work leans into the future. How can I create sustainably? Ethically? Accessibly? What small creative acts can I manifest that will enhance my collaborative works? What boundaries do I need to maintain to ensure that I can create and heal?" The 'Now' above was 2022, when I first traveled to Arteles. In the hush of the Finnish winter, in the Silence, Awareness, Existence, I planted the seeds which I have been nurturing and cultivating. In the woods behind Arteles, I found a path to follow. That path has guided my through the tumult of the last few years, and prepared me to return to deepen my practice. My creative practice has been grounded in theatre and performance for decades. Now, this now, I am listening to my intuition whisper "there's more". This return to Arteles is an opportunity to listen to the whispers within, to cultivate my creativity, and to follow where it leads.

Christine Weir Los Angeles, CA, USA Drawing, Sculpture www "Through my work, I seek to interrogate the mystery of existence, using simple, but unconventional, approaches." Christine Weir is a Los Angeles based artist who explores her interests in space, time, matter, and consciousness through topics such as nuclear contamination, states of mind, and renewal. Informed by the technical rigor of her education and her background in art history, as well as her curiosity about the unquantifiable aspects of existence, Weir’s works in drawing and sculpture are hand-built, detailed, and cumulative. The artist works within thematic narratives, creating modular pieces that are also intended to be viewed on their own. While her starting point often begins with scientific data, images, and representations of geologic forms, she relies on analog techniques such as drawing, paper folding, and needle felting to explore the varied territories between the material and immaterial. The act of converting simple materials into two and three dimensional forms expands their physicality and meaning, transforming the original subjects into otherworldly objects meant for contemplation. The intricate nature of her work reveals the role of structures, patterns, and time in the study of our collective existence.  David Solomon Leon Madrid, Spain Fiction, Philosophy, Video www "Writer and philosopher: Truth through fiction." I seek wisdom and understanding, but am too much of a skeptic for pure reason, so I stick to stories instead. I write in two major modes. The first is popular philosophy. I have authored Buddhism & Depression (forthcoming later this year with Mud Pie Books), as well as a volume on Spinoza (The Ethics Reloaded). The second mode is fiction. The novel set in the Central Asian steppe appears to be a political thriller but is really a theological interrogation masquerading as a romance. The one with the Taoists on a fantastical Breton island is about nirvana. The one I’ll be writing at Arteles, though, I’m playing straight: set in a reskinned Ancient Egypt, it is about death and the afterlife. So far. I think. I am also the host of the YouTube channel Philosophical Storytime. In it, I mine nuggets of enlightenment from the fables of Taoism, Sufism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, anime, and more. Interviews with artists, authors, and academics coming soon. Sarah Canfield West Orange, New Jersey, USA Painting, Mixed media, Collage www Using the visual tension between photorealism and abstraction, my work investigates dissonances between the technological and natural worlds. Through multiple media, I merge abstract painting and photography techniques to create works spanning collage, mixed media, soft pastel, wall hung sculpture and video projections. My process vacillates between creating images, disassembling them both physically and digitally, and finally, reassembling these parts to complete each piece. Switching media and techniques allows me to alternate between conscious intention and chance. For instance, I counter the spontaneous, random results of dispersed ink on paper with the methodical editing and collaging of images on the screen. The multiple facets of my process help me to create hybrid, futuristic environments that reverberate between reality and illusion. I am interested in creating visual contradictions, similar to the unsettling, hyperreal experience of a vivid dream. The fusion of natural and artificial images in my work echoes the intrusion of technology into the natural world. The depth and layering throughout my work speaks to how deeply embedded technology has become in our lives and reflects my ongoing fascination with our ever-evolving human relationship with the machine.

Alexandra Jabre London, UK Painting www I am a British-Lebanese figurative painter living in London, U.K. My work explores a visual language beyond the representational using water-based mediums such as watercolours, gouache and acrylics. Born in France to Lebanese parents, raised in London and having pursued higher education in the States, I prioritise people and relations to loved ones, where human connections and energetic links surpass questions around national identity or the whereabouts of one’s physical home. I graduated from Brown University in 2007 and obtained my MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2017. My current practice consists of figurative paintings with surrealist elements using water-based mediums on paper, board, panel or canvas. My work about consciousness and energetic ties between humans is inspired by a 20-year search for answers about my ongoing metaphysical issues and karmic ties and the connections in my life. As I continue to work on my mind, body and soul, I receive guidance and instructions through dreams and intuitive thoughts regarding next steps in my work. Karalyn Shaw Australia Interdisciplinary, conceptual, materials-focused www "Illuminating the liminal - interconnectedness, patterns, synchronicities, improbable harmonies and the quietly beautiful impossible." Karalyn is an interdisciplinary, conceptually-driven, and materials-focused artist based in Brisbane, Australia. Her creative practice draws on a diverse background in languages, international affairs and law, psychology, and current academic studies in science, engineering, and visual art. She creates works that are personally, environmentally, and situationally responsive adopting subject-appropriate, evocative and communicative media. Karalyn’s work often explores the intersections of humanity, the natural world, science, and philosophy. A creative compulsive, she is also a keen writer and especially, delights in confessional poetry. She relishes cooking, travelling, music, and swimming - particularly ocean swimming, as an ardent thalassophile. This is her second residency at Arteles, following her participation in the Silence Awareness Existence program in February 2024. Tsu OuYang Taipei, Taiwan Visual Arts, Graphic Design, Craft www "Participating in the Universe's large-scale laboratory research, my life is the experimental subject, and my art is like the lab report." Tsu OuYang is a multifaceted creator engaging in art and design. The development of her artwork is a reflective journal embodying her individuation process. Seeking the essence of life has been at the core of her philosophy, and finding the true self is her long-term project. Her artistic practice involves experimenting with various art forms and materials to sharpen self-awareness, which is an excellent catalyst for her transformation in many aspects. Specifically, book arts, printmaking and photography have been the crucial parts of her aesthetic approaches. Her works have been selected for various international exhibitions in many countries. As a lifelong learner, she has a wide range of interests across Jungian psychology, ecopsychology, neuroscience, quantum physics, and so forth. Even though the diverse knowledge fields seem separated, she realised the truth about the Universe should integrate different perspectives and transcend all boundaries. Out of a keen curiosity about the science of consciousness, she keeps exploring the connection between art, healing, and spirituality. Self-awareness and universal consciousness continuously reflect on her art projects. As if by magic, she creates works of art, and her creations complete her. See the list of all the Arteles residents here