Incantation for the Plant SpiritJenny Jih (2024)

HD Video (01:56)

This project originated from my participation in a workshop titled Spagyrics: Alchemy for Herbs at the The Atlantis Bookshop. Having long been fascinated by alchemy through historical texts and manuscripts, this workshop offered my first opportunity to engage with contemporary alchemical practice. Guided by Paul Wood, participants learned how to create plant tinctures using simple kitchen tools, following the traditional alchemical stages of transformation. Rather than viewing alchemy merely as a precursor to modern chemistry, this process reveals an alternative way of understanding nature, where material transformation is inseparable from spiritual and perceptual change.

Responding to this experience, I created an audio-visual work based on an incantation dedicated to the plant spirit of lemon balm, the herb we transformed during the workshop. It reflects my observations and sensations as we moved through different alchemical stages and explores the principle of correspondence, where plants, planets, and human consciousness are interconnected. The incantation was composed into sound using Ableton and paired with generative visuals created with Hydra, forming a sound-responsive piece that translates the alchemical process into an immersive sensory experience.

screenshot of the audio-visual in Hydra

showcased in Elbow Room event at Camberwell College of Arts (14.03.2024)