Elves, UFOs and Visionary Worlds: interview with Harry Pack
Anita: Let’s start with your process. I’m wondering if you begin with an image in your mind, or if your art emerges through experimentation and improvisation? What materials do you use and how has your style developed through these tools?
Harry: I've been making art all my life and there's been an evolution of ideas that appear in my work. I view my creative practice as a vehicle for exploring reality, so I'm influenced by the people that I meet, the books that I read, the places that I go – all the things that reality presents. When I start a new piece, usually I have a vague idea of what I'm going to create, but it always evolves into something completely different and unexpected. I’ll be thinking, ‘I’m going to draw this today’, but the art will say, ‘no, you’re going to draw this instead’.
“I view my creative practice as a vehicle for exploring reality, so I’m influenced by the people that I meet, the books that I read, the places that I go – all the things that reality presents. ”
When people ask me these questions I have to ask, how far do you want me to go back? My artwork is a way for me to make sense of various things that happened a long time ago. When I was younger I thought I'd been abducted by a UFO. I spent years talking to people about it and trying to understand it, until I accepted that I might never get an answer. The experience opened me up to ideas that shaped my art practice. Much of my art is an attempt to understand what happened. Maybe I did get abducted…
I can't take credit for the elves in my work because they're creating themselves. I just wait for them to show me who they are – then I show them to other people and they inform me a bit more. Same with the UFOs – they just started appearing. I can't take credit for them, and I don't want to. They drip feed me information through visuals and poetry and the conversations I have about them.
“I can’t take credit for the elves in my work because they’re creating themselves. ”
I've been making art digitally for the last few years. Before that, everything was either hand-drawn or painted. Now I'm getting back into painting – I want to work with materials again. I've been offered a show at a gallery in Denver next year, and am working on a new body of work that is nature-inspired. I've been so heavily involved in different digital art projects… I'm chasing that point where it's all done and I can paint full-time again.
Recently a crop circle of a Prism Elf face appeared next to Stonehenge. It was a remarkable thing to experience – I’ve been a UFO enthusiast for a while and always thought crop circles are such fascinating works of art – what they stand for and also how they allow people to question our place in the universe. You can see the ghost of where it used to be, now that harvest is over.
Jester Crop Circle. Photo by @droning_on.art
Anita: How have altered states of consciousness informed your artistic practice?
Harry: Altered states have played a large part in my work – they have opened my mind up to what it means to be an artist. They allowed me to develop a much deeper connection to nature. They've enhanced my perception of most things, allowed me to see things from a new perspective, one that is more creative and nature-inspired. They've given me insights into who and what I am. I see huge parallels between plant medicine and creativity – essentially they both come from the same place, as we are also expressions of nature. I try to interpret my experiences visually – the artworks become a tool to help me understand the creative energy that comes through. It’s like learning a hieroglyphic language – artmaking is sometimes like an abstract language that I don’t understand until later.
Anita: Tell me about your ‘prism elves’ – where are they from? To me they are a bit uncanny in the sense that they seem mechanical. The way they smile reminds me of the sensation of involuntary facial expressions and crying during psychedelic experiences – how it can feel like an alien intelligence is inhabiting your body and turning on the faucet to see if you’re in good working order. Have you had that experience? They also seem a bit mischievous – is there a trickster aspect to them?
Harry: No one's ever said that before. A lot of people thought I was smoking DMT to create them. They are largely influenced by psychedelic experiences but they’re also influenced by the spiritual toolkit I developed in recovery, the aesthetics of the 80s, childhood memories, science fiction and dreams.
When I was in recovery I started playing with geometry in my artwork. Through the geometry, I noticed smiley faces coming through, and one day Prism Elf number one appeared. From a young age I've always felt like I’ve had something guiding me and it felt like this elf was that thing. It felt like I was having a telepathic conversation with it, and it told me that we're gonna be working together.
The elves have become a huge part of my artwork now. Some people think they're the machine elves that Terence McKenna talked about. I think they are similar, but I’m not entirely sure who or what they are. Over time they have evolved and I’ve got to know them better. They show me how art can be used as a tool to dig deeper.
When the elves started coming through in my work, I got to know each of them on an individual basis. I would get an idea of their personality or their vibration as they revealed themselves, whether it's through their shape or the colors that they create themselves with. I try to integrate aspects of my spiritual toolkit into their personalities, so that when someone spends a bit of time with the elf, they receive a bit of that healing energy.
I interact with them every time I talk to somebody else about them. I often wonder, am I creating them, or are they creating themselves? And why does that matter? Sharing them online and hearing people’s perspectives helps me understand them. Earlier this year I had a stall with lots of elves at Breaking Convention in the UK. People kept asking, what are these things? And all I could say was – you tell me.
With the trickster energy – most people seem to find them happy but others find them a bit unsettling, which I can understand. I like to think they are mischievous and highly intelligent, masters of time, and good at helping us see the ridiculousness of everything. They can sometimes play hilarious jokes on you, other times they can be quite frightening. It depends where your head's at. I think they help you understand yourself from a different perspective. I had a small stall at a festival this year and it was so windy and rainy, my tent kept falling apart and I was surr ounded by the elves all looking at me with big grins. I had to sit down and laugh at myself, it felt like they were testing my patience. Their humour goes much deeper than that though, they have played some spectacularly weird and cosmic tricks on me, very synchronistic and magical, which has had me questioning reality all over again.
As DMT is becoming more available in the Western world, people are having more encounters with elves. It's almost like they're trying to make themselves known at this turning point in history. The more that people use art to express these experiences, the better understanding we will have.
“As DMT is becoming more available in the Western world, people are having more encounters with elves. It’s almost like they’re trying to make themselves known at this turning point in history. ”
Anita: I’ve heard people say that their first DMT experience felt familiar. It makes you wonder if this familiarity is from the circulation of images, or whether it’s more like a repressed memory. I think about this in relation to flying saucers too! I love the UFO motifs in your work and I see that you’ve been speaking publicly about UFOs at festivals and conferences. Do you feel comfortable talking about your experiences?
Harry: I think I’ve been abducted three times. Each time I experienced a time lapse and memory loss. I’ve been down many rabbit holes trying to work out what happened and I still don’t know, but the experience has changed my life quite dramatically.
I have two vivid memories from when I was very young, which never made sense but it’s like my mind won’t allow me to forget them. I was 4 the first time, and 5 the second time. The first time, I was on a red climbing frame in this park and I remember floating away and seeing flashing images in my mind of my brothers looking for me. When I woke up under the climbing frame they had gone, and somehow I walked all the way home on my own. One of my recent pieces is called Der Frambic Gnemil, which is an anagram of Red Climbing Frame, it has a poem that goes with it which describes my experience of trying to decipher what happened that day.
Der Frambic Gnemil full caption
A year later I was in school and our teacher took us into this little cul-de-sac – the whole classroom was squeezed in there. I remember looking up and getting blinded by this white light. Again I woke up on the floor and everyone was gone. When I walked back to the classroom my teacher asked where I’d been and wouldn’t believe me when I said I was in the cul-de-sac – they’d been looking for me and there was nowhere to hide.
The third time happened when I was 19. I disappeared in front of a group of friends, and woke up about 20 minutes later in the same spot. My bag was missing as well. I spent the next couple of days trying to work out what happened – according to my friends we were together and then I disappeared. My bag turned up two days later at the police station – it had been handed in by a lady who'd found it in the woods, walking her dog on the other side of Oxfordshire. It had everything in it.
Soon after that I saw a program on alien abductions. It depicted things that had been happening to me – waking up in the middle of the night paralysed, seeing flashing lights outside my window, feeling a presence walk into my room. In another experience, I thought I had amazing eyesight and could see the air particles. I spent the next ten years trying to work out what happened, with a small amount of information. I read books, talked to friends about it and tried to connect with other people who'd had similar experiences.
A number of times, talking about what happened made me feel so detached, like I was losing touch with reality. I felt like I was losing the plot and I wanted to be normal. At times I tried to be ‘realistic’ with myself and I wondered whether I was fooling myself into thinking these things because they made life more interesting. I also developed psychosis which didn’t help the situation. But eventually this all led to a spiritual experience, when I finally looked for help. Getting to know other artists who express themselves in a similar way has also been incredibly useful. Every now and then, someone will pop up with a similar experience. As soon as I start talking about it, weird synchronicities happen. Now I trust that Spirit or the Universe talks through us when we communicate. I am quite open about my experiences, hoping they can be of use to others who have been through something similar.
Looking back, I think it was useful for my journey as an artist to feel ‘alienated’. Now I know it's okay, I feel like I'm supposed to talk about this stuff, it's what I'm here for. And I’ve realised that whether I got abducted or not is not important. The fact that I thought I got abducted is what's important. Art is the tool I use to integrate the whole experience. Sometimes I think it was The Purple UFO that abducted me.
Anita: It's exciting when synchronicities start taking off, isn't it? It really fuels you. Tell us about The Purple UFO.
Harry: Recently I’ve been getting to know people from the therapeutic and psychedelic research world, and I’ve been wondering where I could fit in. The Purple UFO was conceived and developed by the UFOs emerging in my work – it is their vision. Together we have created a platform for people to make art in a group setting and discuss our creations. It’s similar to the way that ‘rooms of recovery’ function, it feels really healthy.
It's all about integration – we need more tools for people to integrate psychedelic experiences, traumas, UAP experiences, etc. Art therapy seems limited in the way that it is used at the moment. Doing it in a group setting is an amazing way to turn the cogs of your mind, listening to other people. When I am creating artwork I am also reliving experiences, because I am recreating them visually. Having other people engage with them allows me to connect with the experiences differently.
“It’s all about integration – we need more tools for people to integrate psychedelic experiences, traumas, UAP experiences, etc. Art therapy seems limited in the way that it is used at the moment. ”
I try to hold The Purple UFO weekly on Sundays. Talking at a festival or conference like EGA is the perfect way for The Purple UFO to grow and evolve. I'm trying to get other people on board to help fly it.
Aboard The Purple UFO I am curating courses for participants to take part in, and allowing these projects to evolve at their own pace. For The Plant Project, I invite attendees to pick a plant that they feel a connection to. I provide various prompts to create an artwork inspired by the plant – contemplating their relationship to the plant, its growth and how it interacts with the nature that surrounds it. We then share our work over Zoom sessions. Eventually, once we have enough work, I'd like to hold exhibitions for those who've submitted a piece. This is an open invitation to anyone who wants to get involved. It’s a great way to promote creativity and nature connectedness in a group setting.
Anita: I hope to jump on board! So I did a bit of homework on you. In a podcast you say ‘My art reflects me. It’s a reflection of something I have inside’ and you quote Don Van Vliet of Captain Beefheart saying ‘I’m trying to turn myself inside out’ – I love this so much. Can you talk about the dynamic between interiority and exteriority in your work?
Harry: I feel very fortunate to be an artist at this stage in my life. I went full-time about 5 years ago. Up until that point, I had other jobs which didn't really mean anything to me. I have a natural need to express myself. It's a tool that I've cultivated over years. I feel lucky to have had my mind exercised through artmaking, because it has shown me so much. It's given me a way of navigating reality, it's given me a way to feel connected to people and it's given me a purpose.
Scientists say we only sense the tiniest fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum – I think that is a similar fraction to what I know about myself. Through creating art, I uncover more and more, and it connects me to more and more people.
“Scientists say we only sense the tiniest fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum – I think that is a similar fraction to what I know about myself. Through creating art, I uncover more and more, and it connects me to more and more people.”
Anita: Many visionary artists describe art making as a form of devotion, does this appeal to you? How do you stay connected with your spirituality – do you have a spiritual practice? When you speak about your process it seems as if you enter a trance state that bypasses the ego, as if you’re channeling something. Is there anything you do to access these states?
Harry: I think the act of making art is a spiritual practice on its own. If I’m aware of this, then the experience is enhanced. A lot of what I do is mirrored by the lessons I learn in recovery.
I talk about recovery a fair bit as it's such an integral part of my creative practice. When you're an addict, and you're not in recovery, you're often stuck in your own head. The illness will isolate you and make it harder to interact with others. Recovery is going through this process of understanding who you are, recognising your faults, and staying connected.
I have the same spiritual practice as I did in my recovery. Meditation and prayer allow me to slow myself down in the morning. They give me balance and clarity. I ask, what can I do for someone else today? When you get upset about something – whether it's your pride or self-pity – those emotions block the universe from being able to work through you. I ask, whatever it is – God, the universe, nature – to work through me. I ask to get out of the way of myself, and I ask it to guide me, to show me where I can be of service.
And I call addicts, alcoholics and artists – I practice talking to them about recovery and art. I like to think the universe is a good, positive force, and by making connections with others, it clears a path for you. It creates this peaceful void in your mind so my own voice is not so loud and confusing when I’m talking to others.
Anita: I’ve also struggled with addiction – my recovery was through entheogenic plants. But I have also seen how drug abuse can destroy lives. I was wondering if you have anything to say about safety and harm reduction?
Harry: I think it’s great that alternative ways of finding spiritual solutions are more available these days, as some processes don’t work for everyone. I’ve noticed different forms of therapy sprouting out of the research that’s been going into plant medicine recently. That’s what initially inspired The Purple UFO – having spaces where people can come and be vulnerable and hear others share is a real benefit to society. People can share where they’ve found help and information on how to stay safe, or how to recognise and address problems.
Anita: Who are your favourite artists, writers and filmmakers? What other artists and creatives have made an impression on you?
Harry: When I was in art school I went to an exhibition by Mark Rothko, in an attempt to understand abstract painting. He wrote a book called The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art. It allowed me to see so much more behind his art than I'd initially realised. I started painting all these squares, experimenting with colour, shape and emotion. I was also really inspired by an Irish abstract artist, Sean Scully. His work helped me process the idea of a language that happens between color and shape. His paintings are often these huge canvases with different coloured cubes all over them – you can really see the way these cubes are communicating with each other.
One day a friend asked, ‘Why are you painting all these squares?’ And I said, ‘I don't know’. And she said, ‘Why don't you try extracting them from the painting and exploring them in another dimension?’ So I started making sculptural versions of the squares. That process was so interesting, it allowed me to see things from another perspective.
Over the years I’ve had a lot of people comment that my art reminds them of the Yellow Submarine animation by Heinz Edelmann. When UFOs started appearing in my artwork, I wondered if The Purple UFO was my own Yellow Submarine, so I began asking myself the same question – ‘How do I extract the UFOs into another dimension?’
I really admire the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. When I lived in New Zealand, I worked in a sandwich bar and we hung my paintings in the window. People often said my style reminded them of his so I looked him up and was instantly drawn to his world. He believed art should grow naturally, like a tree – never perfectly straight or symmetrical.
Recently I’ve been inspired by the English artist William Morris – his ideas on nature, creativity and how we interact with art. It becomes more of a necessity as life evolves. I think creativity is an essential part of human flourishing and can bring a healthier mindset.
I'm constantly in awe of other contemporary artists. There's some amazing artists in the psychedelic scene. I've also been reading Emerson recently, his work about nature. The transcendentalists have come along at exactly the right time for me.
“I’m constantly in awe of other contemporary artists. There’s some amazing artists in the psychedelic scene. I’ve also been reading Emerson recently, his work about nature. The transcendentalists have come along at exactly the right time for me.”
Anita: Tell us about your contribution to EGA. How can people engage with you and your work? Will you have merch for sale?
Harry: I'm doing an artist talk at EGA – I’ll explain my journey as an artist and how The Purple UFO came about. I may be doing a workshop and I'm looking at ways that I can get people interacting – this might involve providing some art materials so people can colour in a Prism Elf. There should be merch for sale. Hopefully I can abduct a few people to do workshops after the conference.
