"A running theme through my work is this idea of sound and motion; those two things tie to my work in a juxtaposed position to create an ambiance of life around the work. It's sculptural, with objects subtly caught in motion, making sound or imagery that captures and reflects movement or sound, a visual onomatopoeia. Sound permeates through and relates to both; it might also be literal in the case of my sound installations."
—GHAHARY
Sound Shower - A Sound Sculpture Installation
This project is deeply rooted in exploring the spontaneous and collective creation of sound within an interactive space. It offers an immersive experience that not only allows but encourages participants to interact with and shape the sonic environment.
The sound shower sculptures are designed to be ceiling-hung, ideally placed above the walkways or flat conveyor belts that connect airport terminals. The environment is shaped by travel by those who participate by walking underneath it. The random flow of people builds, and releases sounds much like a cloud releases rain, simulating a weather pattern within a microclimate. This ensures a captive audience walking to a flight or arriving from one. The sound shower communicates a language of soothing sounds that are triggered in harmony, creating a calming and welcoming atmosphere for the participants as they approach each location of a piece.
The shape of each piece symbolizes the traveler’s status, like a drop that has left a cloud before it has hit the ground, caught in the space between destinations.
Metallic Spheres
The Metallic Spheres album project between the Orb and David Gilmour brought together two huge musical inspirations to create an epic landmark psychedelic soundscape. As a music lover of The Orb and Pink Floyd, it was a dream come true. I was initially inspired to create visuals based on the paradox of traveling without movement, inwards like a Shaman shifting through altered states deep into the vast imagination of inner space. The mystery of the Metallic Spheres lies between Worlds, gatekeepers to unperceivable dimensional realms outside our own. As sentient technology, possibly as old as the Universe itself. All powerful. None malevolent, yet seemingly omnipotent.
Further exploration into the "Metallic Spheres" series presented a fascinating journey into the intersection of music, art, and technology, especially given its collaboration with The Orb and David Gilmour. Much like the album itself, the series is imbued with layers of meaning, each sphere representing a unique facet of sound, emotion, or conceptual exploration. The collaboration combines distinct musical elements—Gilmour's signature guitar work and The Orb's ambient and electronic soundscapes—each sphere a world of sound and texture, yet part of a more extraordinary cosmic ensemble.
In a literal sense, the artwork reflects themes of unity, completeness, and infinity inherent in the shape of the spheres. Metaphorically, they symbolize planets or atoms, suggesting themes of interconnectedness in the Universe and the fundamental building blocks of matter, resonating with the ambient nature of the music. The metallic aspect alludes to the technological, synthesized creation of music, blending organic guitar tones with electronic sounds in a seamless fusion. This synthesis is mirrored in the artwork's aesthetic choices—shiny, reflective surfaces that capture and bend the light, much like the album blends and bends genres and influences.
Incorporating elements of personal vision and the specific influences from The Orb and David Gilmour deepen the interpretation. My work often explores themes of space, with the spheres representing celestial bodies and their metallic nature hinting at the human endeavor to explore and understand the cosmos through technology.
The cultural significance of the UFO (or UAP) phenomenon adds another profound layer to the "Metallic Spheres" project. UFO sightings have captivated the public imagination for decades, becoming a significant part of cultural and social discourse. Often seen as bridges between the known and the unknown, these phenomena echo the exploration and curiosity themes underpinning this project. The integration of UFO lore, especially from locations like Landers, known for its UFO history and spiritual significance, ties into George Van Tassel's legacy of extraterrestrial communication and the ancient Indigenous beliefs in Star People.
Travelers I
2010 - wide panel digital collage & ILLUSTRATION
Travelers II
2010 - wide panel digital collage & ILLUSTRATION
Metallic Sphere I
2010 - digital
Metallic Sphere II
2010 - digital
Metallic Sphere IV
2010 - digital
Metallic Sphere III
2010 - digital
Metallic Spheres - in Colour
"Rite of Spring" and "Skylark" embody a homage to the rejuvenating essence of spring and the inherent cyclicality of existence. "Rite of Spring" was used for The Orb and David Gilmour, and the "Metallic Spheres in Colour" cover record release. The piece "Skylark," presented as a poster accompanying the record version of the Metallic Spheres series, encapsulates a moment of calm harmony and renewal at Peter's Canyon in Orange County—a locale renowned for its vibrant blossoms that bloom with renewed vigor at the spring equinox.
At the heart of this composition are the metallic spheres, meticulously stacked and hovering with an ethereal grace above the verdant field, bathed in the soft, golden light of the afternoon Sun. These spheres, with their polished, reflective surfaces, act as a mirror to the world around them, capturing and bending the light of the spring equinox, a time when day and night find equilibrium and stand on the cusp of growth and rebirth.
The choice of Peter's Canyon as the backdrop, with its fields of vibrant yellow blossoms, infuses the background with a wash of nature's colorful electricity bouncing on the spheres' reflective surface.
"Rite of Spring" symbolically reflects the cycles of nature, the passage of time, and our place in the natural world. The renewal is a testament to the moment when our world awakens from its winter slumber, and life begins anew with boundless possibility.
Rite of Spring
2022 - digital ILLUSTRATION/PhOTOGRAPHY/3D
Interstellar Overdrive
2022 - digital ILLUSTRATION/3D
The Void
2022 - digital ILLUSTRATION/3D
Skylark
2022 - digital ILLUSTRATION/PhOTOGRAPHY/3D
Landers
Landers, California, stands as a pivotal junction of mysticism, extraterrestrial intrigue, and scientific exploration, primarily marked by the enigmatic presence of the Integratron and the colossal Giant Rock. This desert locale weaves a compelling narrative that spans ancient Native American spirituality to mid-20th-century UFO culture, providing a rich backdrop for the "Metallic Spheres" project. I spent 6 months traveling back and forth from Long Beach, to the Mojave Desert in my spare time, visiting, exploring and recording sites like The Integratron, Gaint Rock and the surrounding area. I was captivated by the local folk law and stories that intertwined with this enchanted area. The location is dry and arid, yet mystically sparse, allowing the color of the blue sky to fill your pilfery view and landmarks to focus your vision.
The Integratron, a brainchild of George Van Tassel—an aviation engineer turned UFO advocate—embodies a fusion of diverse influences. Built between 1957 and 1977, this unique, all-wood dome is positioned at a geomagnetic force intersection and was intended as an electrostatic generator for rejuvenation and time travel. Nearby, Giant Rock, the world's largest freestanding boulder, has served as a spiritual site for Native American tribes and a focal point for Van Tassel's Spacecraft Conventions, making it a beacon of extraterrestrial communication and broader UFO lore.
The surrounding Mojave Desert, inhabited by diverse Native American groups like the Pueblo, Pimans, Yumans, and Shoshonean tribes, offers a cultural backdrop that has long embraced celestial connections. Stories of the "Star People" or "Sky Gods" among these tribes suggest ancient extraterrestrial ties, paralleling Van Tassel's narratives of otherworldly guidance. This convergence of spirituality and extraterrestrial intrigue aligns with the vision of the "Metallic Spheres."
The Metallic Spheres, situated within the stark, mystical landscape of the Mojave, draw upon the area's rich tapestry of historical and cosmic significance. Each view is a vision of resonating with the vibrations of the land—a land that has been a conduit for messages from the stars and a canvas for ancient celestial wisdom. The placement of the Metallic Spheres in this desert expanse is a deliberate alignment with Landers' historical narrative of exploration and connection. In this context, the spheres become physical manifestations of the quest to bridge the terrestrial and the cosmic.
This selection of Landers as the setting for the Metallic Spheres weaves a new layer into the region's multifaceted story, focusing on the continuum of human curiosity and creativity—from ancient Native American reverence for the cosmos to Van Tassel's visionary endeavors into artifacts of contemporary artistic expressions and function. The Metallic Spheres pay homage to the past and carry forward Landers' legacy as a sacred space of cosmic inquiry and creative exploration.
Landers I
2023 - digital ILLUSTRATION/PhOTOGRAPHY/3D
Landers III
2022 - digital ILLUSTRATION/PhOTOGRAPHY/3D
The Metallic Sphere
Starting life at the start of the project in 2010 as a 2D illustration, I sculpted the next version to create more accurate renditions of compositions made for the Metallic Spheres in Colour. The composite imageries fusing actual photography with a 3D sculpture helped create the hyper-surreal nature of the work, its treatment after tapping into the vein of airbrushed Sci-Fi novel covers of the Seventies and the Eighties. These were influential in the feel of the ambiance and color of the work. Also, having it as an object felt more real to me and opened the possibilities for future explorations in casting reflective materials and creating life-size sculptures to place in nature.
Metallic Sphere Sculpter - Orginal Size
2022 - 3D PRINT
Metallic Sphere Sculpter
2022 - 3D PRINT
High Five
The 'Hamsa' is an ancient apotropaic Middle Eastern transcending cultural boundaries, symbolizing among many things the Eye of Thoth, Hand of Venus, Hand-of-Mary, Hand-of-Fatima. The word hamsa comes from the Hebrew word hamesh, which means five. It represents protection from the 'Ayin Ha'ra' or evil eye to dispel illness, death, evil people, or just general unluckiness. Hamsa is associated with the number 5, attributed to the five fingers. May it's gaze protect you and the ones you love.
Hamsa Prayer for you
Let no sadness come to this heart
Let no trouble come to these arms
Let no conflict come to these eyes
Let your soul be filled with the blessing of joy and peace.
Hamsa Prayer for your home
Let no sadness come through this gate.
Let no trouble come to this dwelling.
Let no fear come through this door.
Let no conflict be in this place.
Let your home be filled with the blessing of joy and peace.
Five Left
2022 - Photography/illustration
Five Right
2024 - Photography/illustration
From the Abyss came the cosmos itself
These studies form a collection of imagery that captures the notion of the expanse, 'the big bang,' when everything comes into being from the void. Reimagining within our visible field, the birth of concealed elements that shape our reality, to express this sensational moment that is both scientific and metaphysical: the mysterious and magical moment when everything came into being. Science tends to be motivated to solve the mysteries of nature rather than dwelling on the unescapable frontier of the unknown. These areas are wild, untamed, rich, fertile grounds to wander and ponder with our imagination, free from the gentrification of meaning and permanent architecture of human ideas. Mystery keeps the imagination on its toes. Its contemplation helps create an agile muscle for ideas and concepts. The meaning and concept of the Abyss is a convergence of Science and Religion. A geographical region that forms shared and revered concepts in equal grandiose measure, juxtaposing each in either direction of Science and Religion to create faith in the fundamentals to which all comes forth.
The Intersection of Science and Mystery
A running current through my work is the idea of motion and sound; those two themes create an ambiance of life. From the Abyss came the cosmos itself, which can be viewed as a watershed moment when science, religion, myth, mass, and math exploded simultaneously to give birth to time, size, distance, temperature, gravity, light, and sound. This inescapable expansion of everything we know, see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel, live, dream, guess and imagine. The flash into the creation of energies and waves, such as, for example, time and radiation, felt like the entrance of Gods within our realm. These influential and prevalent energies permeate our existence and what we can observe, giving us countless opportunities to interact with our lives as part of the fabric of it. They are more alluding, in some cases, to being invisible forces, so to imagine these entrances as visible phenomena becomes the observable energy underlying each of these works.
The works fused painting, photography, and laborious manipulation. What began as meditation became a journey. Moving colors are essential in transforming the flat, stark, blank oblivion of a 2D vertical plane into a portal of depth—a window to muse the kaleidoscopic and psychedelic expanse of creation. Curves and gradients provide movement when there is stillness and a sense of sound when there is silence. In combination, a visual onomatopoeia invisibly forms, a synesthesia to an internal auditory sensation. The feeling of this sound is the accompanying fragment to the explosion of color. Much like the theatre of its conception, there is only silence after the fact, much like the contradiction of the name Big Bang, wherein the vacuum of the Abyss, no sound exists.
Some of these works and observations became part of the artwork for The Orbs, "No Sound Out Of Bounds" record album sleeve artwork. The other studies are forming the foundation for a series of 3D sculptural works I have been planning and working on these past years. More to come soon.
Gamma
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 1
2017 -Digital painting/manipulation
X-Ray
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 2
2017 -Digital painting/manipulation
Ultraviolet
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 3
2017 -Digital painting/manipulation
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 4
2017 -Digital painting/manipulation.
Polarity
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 6
2018 -Digital painting/manipulation
Radio
Time
From the VOID came the cosmos itself Study no. 5
2018 -Digital painting/manipulation
Fabric
2016 was a challenging year for the music industry. Many musicians, some genre-defining legends, were lost during a relatively tight, intensely experienced four-month period. What started as a meditation on David Bowie in January added George Martin and Prince by its end in April. It was hard to fathom the disappearance of such influential musical icons. The music they left leaves an imprint on the human World and the spirit to live on. It spurred the idea to celebrate the artist's music by creating an artifact of the music-listening experience using space, movement, color, and time.
The artist's album defined each piece and the chosen color. The space was the plain surface of a 3ft x 3 ft wooden board. The album's overall running time multiplied by five defined the minute time used for the creative painting window. A fixed set of paint stencils was shared for each piece. I also worked the canvas from right to left, which gave the feeling of a start and finish across the physical plane of the canvas.
The unobscured running time contained a working window using the parameters formed by painting with a fixed set of stencils and spray cans in each canvas's chosen color to express the sound playing of the album.
All these rules contained the movement to add focus and intensity to the formation of the color pattern influenced by the music and interpreted by movement. Each color movement created by the listening experience was a tapestry from the above rules to form a fabric pattern unique to that experience.
Purple Rain 217.7
2016 ACRYLIC & HAND POURED CLEAR RESIN
Abbey Road 235.15
2016 ACRYLIC & HAND POURED CLEAR RESIN
Station to Station 187.7
2016 ACRYLIC & HAND POURED CLEAR RESIN
Hybrid - Podoid
I created these images in London in 2003, just after I had moved from Brighton to work on a large commercial project. The move affected various relationships in my life at the time, both personal and work. The compositions focused on three relationships and the communication between them. Each composition symbolized metaphorically the altered states the move had caused them. There was a power and majesty to shape. It was so curious. The reflections made interesting biological symbols, and the femininity of the piece swerved its androgyny. I made three images to preserve this feeling and project, which are also open to personal interpretation.
The compositions (the triptych) explore three different relationship subjects:
Closeness - the forms mirror one another and give the impression of resting, contented.
Distance - as the forms face away from one another, they are so close and yet so far.\
Confrontation - the same forms face one another animated, each with a different view of the subject.
The forms are replicated in the same proportion, creating a visual rhythm that insinuates a balanced relationship. The position of each form suggests contrasting viewpoints. The white background emphasizes the arrangement of the forms and their relationship. It also amplifies the space between the forms to indicate distance, which we can interpret physically and mentally.
The black and white color of the compositions communicates the questions and answers the forms pose to one another about their relationship, and the grey areas compound the uncertainty.
The composition's symbolism encourages the viewer to relate their experience of balance from within relationships.
The composition's main subject is a photograph of a completed sculpture that I had started in 2000 and finished in 2003. The Techno Pod speaker's volume is similar to one's diaphragm in size. The biological feel of the Pod lends itself to evolution. I played with this idea as a basis for a Sound System, creating an environment where listeners could sit around while it played sounds as part of the crowd.
It was all about the system as part of that environment, leading to an acoustic placement organically sitting in a circle, playing sound inwards from the perimeter. The fact they exhibited human traits was a mutation from the notion of adaptability to the environment to a literal end. Here, the system played as part of the crowd.
We had a couple of rejected Techno Pod cabinets at our first manufacturing site in Worthing, predating our partnership with Bowers and Wilkins (B&W), so I started sculpting humanoid Pod sculptures (Podoids) early to learn body filler more proficiently. One was for a Point of display idea that was never finished. My first attempts were scrapped. I slowly worked off and on another form. This time, seated, its legs astride, the body playing music for all that gathered and heard. It displayed anatomically proportioned legs that were recognizable, yet, for instance, the feet had no toes, making it even more alien.
It made sense that the body captivated curiosity and attention to its function, as the more people looked at it, the more they would hear it playing as a sound system. The sound emits perfectly for that level when you sit next to it. From here, it served as more of an idea for a sound performance and installation.
I finished the sculpture in the early noughties while making Orb designs and patterns at Si-Fi Loudspeakers. I never made the mold. I traveled instead, but I still have the pattern, and I have revisited this idea at my studio in California.
Closeness
2004 - original Sculpture/ Photograph
distance
2004 - original Sculpture/ Photograph
2006- original Sculpture/ Photograph
Confrontation
2004 - original Sculpture/ Photograph
2006- original Sculpture/ Photograph
Blue Room Artworks
The Blue Room Artworks encapsulate a pivotal era in my creative journey. Together, art, technology, and the mysteries of the cosmos converged. Throughout the '90s, these works were deeply intertwined with the design and development of the Pod sound systems, fusing influences from sci-fi, ufology, and esotericism. This was a time when I explored the invisible energies that flow through space—whether sonic or cosmic—capturing the ethereal in tangible forms.
I've always been fascinated by the mysteries of the Universe, and the Blue Room phase offered a perfect medium for expressing that fascination. These works were more than just visual or functional; they were immersive, sensory experiences that blurred the line between art and technology. Designing the pods, from their organic, otherworldly shapes to their acoustic innovations, was an exploration of the mystical relationship between sound and space. Even the Global Blue Room was a convergence of music and technology to create a space for community, transcendence and expression.
Drawing inspiration from the counterculture, otherworldly phenomena, and my deep dives into theosophical philosophies, I shaped the pods as if they were instruments of communication—embodying the idea of sound as a force that transcends the physical. The curvature and flowing lines all reflected my vision of a future where technology is deeply interconnectedwith the mysteries of the Universe.
This period was about pushing boundaries, not just with form but in how sound systems could transform an environment. These designs became iconic in their ability to fuse sonic excellence with visual futurism. The Blue Room Loudspeakers, in particular, symbolized this intersection, becoming a staple of high-end audio design and a touchstone for audiophiles and creatives alike.
Whether in cutting-edge nightclubs or intimate home setups, the Pods and their kin became symbols of this artistic ethos—blending UFO-inspired aesthetics with high-fidelity sound. They were, and continue to be, artifacts of that bold time when sound, design, and spiritual exploration fused to create something that transcended mere function—turning it into a sensory gateway to explore Innerspace.
This body of work is a testament to my belief that art, in all its forms, can open up doorways to new realms of perception and understanding. As much a spiritual journey as a technical one, the Blue Room was about reaching beyond the known and into the infinite, capturing that sense of mystery in every piece I created.
One medium, for example, was Kirlian photography—an alchemic photographic technique that visualizes the energy fields surrounding objects and people. This method fascinated me as it revealed what the naked eye couldn't see, capturing an aura of mysticism and spirituality. I first saw it on the front cover of a weekly digest magazine called "The Unexplained" as a young child in 1980. With pieces like OUTSIDE THE REACTOR and SENSA, I embraced these unseen forces, translating them into visual form.
At a time when Photoshop was in its infancy and Apple computers were breaking new ground in performance (from 1994 to 2000), I ventured into the digital realm, blending traditional and futuristic processes. Using this early digital tech, I created 3D work by hand, installations or taking landscapes and nature shots, layering and manipulating them to create otherworldly visuals that echoed my fascination with ufology, crop circles, the cosmos, and the liminal spaces between the seen and unseen.
Signs of Life
1998 - PHOTOGRAPH (based on original photograph by Steve Alexander)
1995 - illustration/Felt Tips
We Come in Peace
1997 -Kirlian photography collage & digital manipulation BY NIGEL GARION & SIMON GHAHARY 1995
Sensa
Total Eclipse
1997 - illustration/digital manipulation
The Gate
1997 - photograph
Melting Pod
1998 - photograph
Outside the Reactor
1995 - Kirlian photography collage & digital manipulation BY NIGEL GARION & SIMON GHAHARY 1995
Starseed
Starseed captures the enigmatic journey of a pod-like alien artifact, silently traversing the vast expanse of the cosmos. This otherworldly vessel, known as a Starseed, drifts purposefully through the Solar System, passing iconic celestial landmarks with an almost sentient determination. Its ultimate destination lies beyond the terrestrial horizon—a place where its ancient purpose will be revealed.
In the depths of cosmic mythology, Starseeds are believed to be advanced spiritual entities from distant galaxies and realms. These beings carry within them the wisdom of eons, possessing scientific and spiritual knowledge that transcends the limitations of time and space. Each Starseed is encoded with activation encryptions, dormant codes that, when unlocked, bestow extraordinary abilities and insights. These codes may be triggered by cosmic events, planetary alignments, or even by the presence of other sentient beings.
The Starseed artifact embodies this mythos, its sleek, mysterious form housing untold secrets. It could be a harbinger of benevolence, arriving to inspire and heal the inhabitants of Earth, guiding them through the next phase of their evolution. Yet, it might also be a scout seeking to understand and perhaps harness the planet's resources for distant, unknown worlds.
As Starseed drifts closer to Earth, its true purpose remains shrouded in mystery. Is it a beacon of hope, a vessel of transformation, or something else entirely? This piece invites the viewer to contemplate the possibilities of our cosmic connections and the roles we may play in the vast, interconnected web of the universe.
Pod I
1992 - photographic collage
Pod II - Jupiter Passing
1992 - photographic collage
Pod IV - Into the deep
1992 - photographic collage triptych
Pod III
1992 - photographic collage triptych
Pod V