collections + words
collection TEN
WITH NO DIRECTION HOME, ALL IS HOME (harmony and cosmos)
INFINITE (nothing with everything / purification / mystical)
‘The purpose of life is to obey the hidden command which ensures harmony among all and creates an ever better world. We are not created only to enjoy the world, we are created in order to evolve the cosmos.’ Maria Montessori
This collection uses Eastern philosophical concepts to express a personal and collective spiritual journey towards harmony: a complete purification / transformation of consciousness.
Our journey is one’s practice, the process of ‘being’. So we are always at home and always moving: a nomad.
From the previous collection, the interconnectedness of all things and the higher vibration of energy continue. We do not look back or forward but are present to examine No Preferred Direction (The Four Noble Truths) until we find universal-social connectivity.
We each have our Architect’s Plans to guide us on Where To Go?
The unpredictable, random point-of-focus and depth-of-field in the collection is fluid (nomadic). It shows a no fixed attachment which brings an intuitive expression and expansion of freedom. We then change personally and collectively and create a new Design Of Society. New patterns of living, thinking and acting are complete.
We are truth-seekers and understand, honour and respect our lineage: The Totem.
And we continue our practices of the teachings: The Noble Eightfold Path.
Eventually, we are Getting There, and we turn our search (focus) towards something deeper; on a quantum level. This inward vision of the truth (The Three Universal Truths) brings us into harmony in the cosmos.
With our complete understanding, teaching and practice of The Three Pillars, we transform from the dirty and muddy waters (the human condition) into The Lotus (In The Mud): (With No Direction Home)*, All Is Home.
The lotus petals are untainted by the mud and represent our purification, our spiritual ascension (journey).
With our total energy purification, we move beyond the six levels of mental existence and reach the highest plane of consciousness. On this purely spiritual dimension of existence: the union (yoga) with the ultimate reality (the infinite) takes place, and we attain the state of absolute enlightenment, Nirvāṇa (emptiness / nothing with everything).
The cycle is complete and therefore ends, and we are: Released From Saṃsāra. We have an infinite field of ‘being in nonbeing’ — our essence— in the cosmos.
We are The Jewel In The Lotus: Auṃ maṇi padme hūṃ
*(1965): Bob Dylan: Like A Rolling Stone
collection NINE
AND WE ARE THERE…I, WE, ALL (universal focus and awareness)
THE POINT & SPHERE (subtle energy / collective consciousness / transformation)
‘Meditation is not a state of inertia, it is not a state of passivity, it is not a state of mere void, but when you thus relax unconditionally, you relax totally, then the Supreme Intelligence operates. Meditation is the activation of the most subtle energy of Intelligence. Meditation transports your whole being from the domination of matter, the domination of instincts and impulses, from the domination of thoughts into the orbit of Intelligence, and the perfume of Intelligence is the energy of awareness.’ Vimala Thakar
‘I follow where my mind goes’ Love My Way: Psychedelic Furs
'None but ourselves can free our minds’ Redemption Song: Bob Marley
Where we are going depends on where we look, and the view is forever changing and evolving; everything moves, nothing is fixed. We seek balance and focus through awareness, which is a one-pointed concentration of energy.
When we find our centre-point, we can find a collective focus; this takes us to a vibration point (oscillation before transformation) and ‘the energy of awareness’ towards global consciousness.
Calamity can also cause such a change, where we awaken suddenly (satori), and clarity succeeds any chaos.
Our universal responsibility creates insights and subsequent shifts in consciousness (purifications), which removes any ignorance / misunderstanding (avidya).
And so our one true narrative is revealed; the interconnectedness of everything from the deep connectivity on a quantum (energy vibration) level. All qualities of energy (the three gunas) are recognised and included with the movement of energy through matter.
An expanse of consciousness knows no bounds. We begin to see what we can achieve altruistically: implementing ethical universalism to discover and create a positive and reflective universal harmony where ‘magic’ happens… towards a cosmic emptiness.
collection EIGHT
THE RESULT OF EVERYTHING (dimensions and transcendence)
THE CURVED LINE (layers / veils / sheaths)
‘Painters have always needed a sort of veil upon which they can focus their attention. It’s as though the more fully the consciousness is absorbed, the greater the freedom of the spirit behind.’ Bridget Riley
‘Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.’ Baltasar Gracián
‘Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.’ Niels Bohr
'This mind is the matrix of all matter.’ Max Planck
This collection shows the subtle curvature of the flat and the manipulation of the 2D to 3D and vice versa. It discloses the layers of processes used to reach a creative higher thought: accepting the unpredictable and achieving a ‘non-attachment’ to the outcome.
We ultimately adjust, align and reach a place where we are supposed to be, embracing different planes of consciousness (realms) before finally transcending to a higher dimension.
Both in content and concept, the collection attempts to mirror and reflect the strata, sheaths and eventual dimensions that we work through with introspection and our intuitive desire for development, growth, freedom and transformation of the mind.
The collection connects yoga philosophy, Buddhism and quantum physics to question our perception of what is real and look for what we find meaningful. Our findings encourage the move beyond the physical and our senses towards Bodhicitta (enlightenment mind) and direct the mind and energy to a higher level where nothing exists as it appears.
collection SEVEN
TO EACH THEIR OWN (balance and realms)
THE SPIRAL (nature / freedom / oddness)
‘Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.’ E. O. Wilson
‘Everything in excess is opposed to nature.’ Hippocrates
‘Everything in nature goes in curves and circles, and the same is true about our going about.’ Distant Eagle – Iroquois elder
This collection explores the spiral symbol and the looping and turns from non-composed thoughts that are experienced during meditation before finally surrendering to truly just ‘being’.
The pieces represent unbridled movement – free-forms without the societal framework of constructs that narrate our lives and limit our expression and ascension.
They are a celebration of oddness, and of our need for freedom of expression in respectful, joyful and playful ways.
They take us away from the ubiquitous algorithmic design patterns and automated reasoning of today’s world rooted in dualism. The binary of ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ does not exist, only the state of ‘being’.
The pieces symbolically represent how we each have a unique, peculiar perception of things in the particular level of consciousness (realm) in which we exist.
All realms within each dimension are equally accepted, and all recognise the urgency for moving forward and addressing matters that seek out a deeper understanding of nature’s design patterns and the hidden knowledge and wonder of nature’s creative growth and life (the spiral).
At the spiral’s centre is where we find the balance to then establish a progressive development of ideas and solutions that honours our innate, deep affinity with nature’s force and the universe.
This collection is dedicated to the beautifully gifted adults with ‘different’ abilities @MOCAnomi.
collection SIX
ALL YOU NEED IS… (silence)
THE TRIANGLE (stillness / intuition / connections)
‘If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet… maybe we could understand something.’ Federico Fellini
‘To be an artist, you need to exist in a world of silence.’ Louise Bourgeois
‘Silence is sometimes the best answer.’ H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama
Intelligent and full life experiences are encountered when we are open to change and learning, and when we shed old ways and patterns. In silence (stillness) we are listening (observing), insight subsequently comes, and the necessary connections and balance are found. We can then easily recognise and readily adopt only the smart systems that work.
We will know when silence is needed (the power of silence) and know when not to be silent (the power of speaking out), and we will respectively discover and realise through wisdom what is required, and what questions need to be asked in order to alleviate the existential crisis of our times.
collection FIVE
AND YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE (come together)
THE CIRCLE (eternal whole / spiritual / sacred)
‘Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.’ We Can Work It Out: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
This collection begins by considering how passion transformed into compassion (love) could positively change the world, and how the unveiling / revelation of certain knowledge, when transformed into wisdom, could also change / unify the world.
The collection reflects on the Buddhist concept of fitting the square (earthbound / physical / human condition) into the circle (eternal whole / spiritual / sacred).
Ultimately, how will we all connect in order to bring about complete unification of the world? And when and how will science and knowledge transmute into wisdom and meet with love, nature and philosophy in our collective consciousness?
Unity and completeness are central, not only in the physical realm but also in a spiritual, holistic sense. Unions, teams, species, groups, friendships, partnerships, couples and pairs all show that we are not meant to be alone, and indeed we are not alone…
collection FOUR
COMRADES GET THINGS DONE (peace together)
THE SPACE (contemplation / collective)
‘Whatever we believe about how we got to be the extraordinary creatures we are today is far less important than bringing our intellect to bear on how do we get together now around the world and get out of the mess that we’ve made. That is the key thing now. Never mind how we got to be who we are.’ Jane Goodall
In the realm of camaraderie, we understand, respect and accept each other's peculiarities (culture), particularities (conditioning), and all aspects of ourselves so as to nourish and nurture each other, and to do what really needs to be achieved; bring about peace.
This collection looks at individuals with all the inessentials stripped away; all visuals and their complicated signs and indicators are surpassed for the simple immediate version.
The series contemplates the power of the collective, comrades and a private space or moment to just be ‘in peace’ and subsequently create ‘peace’.
collection THREE
AS YOU ARE, AS IT IS (authenticity)
THE SQUARE (earthbound / physical / human condition)
‘All I can be is me - whoever that is.’ Bob Dylan
The portrait work in this collection depicts a fresh perspective on appearance and how we present ourselves, or how our image can be captured. It is the antithesis of our internet world full of posed and altered portraits: a barrage of adorable and ego-boosting ‘selfies’ and postings.
The skeuomorphic use of the square Polaroid connects to the visual use of the square today; internet life inundated with apps, profile photos and visual imagery.
The 2D:3D paper works / sculptures and the photography works reference different forms of communication and technology (past and present) used by Generation X, placing the speed of 21st-century technological developments in perspective, and questioning what societal and human values are being lost or changed by technology.
collection TWO
AN INTRODUCTION (truth and transparency)
THE FORM (substance / essence)
‘Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.’ Mother Teresa
Painted from first thing in the morning ‘selfies’, these portraits aim to capture the ‘raw’ natural beauty and true ‘real’ self immediately seen upon waking, before any adjustments are made to one’s appearance or any form of ‘masque’ is applied.
The Polaroid format references a medium once used on fashion show pre-production and styling shoots. The square restricts information in the portrait, and the Polaroid format suggests immediacy (note taking), yet the analytical painting process is contrary to this; a translation of the flesh into abstract forms of expressionistic marks, which are then put in order to reconstruct a face.
The transparency of watercolours reveals a delicate exploration of the face; the part of the body that is the most exposed and expresses and experiences everything, and hides nothing.
collection ONE
PREFACE (projection and presentation)
THE WIGGLY LINES (purity / energy)
‘The human body, hidden, can be erotic or go unnoticed. Nude, it can hardly go unnoticed, and it’s just as likely to be humorous as erotic.’ Federico Fellini
‘The physical world is wiggly. Clouds, mountains, trees, people are all wiggly. Only when human beings get to working on things – they build buildings in straight lines and try to make out that the world isn’t really wiggly…’ Alan Watts
