Archive for the ‘The First Wave’ Category

Posted on March 8, 2010 - by the raijin admirer

The First Wave – Gallery

This First Series was displayed in exhibit during 2008 and 2009, having been retired towards the end of 2009. The paintings have been sold, traded and gone into private collections.

October: IPJ, Lisbon, Portugal
November: Braço de Prata, Lisbon Portugal,
January: Fábrica da Pólvora, Oeiras, Portugal,
May: NH Hoteis, Lisbon, Portugal
June: Fundação Sousa Pedro, Lisbon, Portugal

Posted on March 8, 2010 - by the raijin admirer

How the Earth Became a Mother

In the beginning, there was no Moon, and the Earth had no order. It hovered around the Sun with no rhythm; no song. Because the Earth was lonely Father Sun could do nothing but watch. The Earth was erratic, frantic like a child bored by solitude, one day spinning out of control, the next day at a standstill staring out into space; pining and yearning.
All the Grand-Fathers, the God-Heads of all the Elemental Spirits, of Plants, Animals and Men could not settle and cast their seeds; or create bodies in which to breathe in their own Nature. They tried in vain to give life to the different races of beings on the Earth, but their Grandchildren could not live long away from their Water-Holes for Nature, their Mother, had no Law; no Rhythm, and was simply too dangerous and immature to depend on.

It was then that Grandfather Owl-Man: the watcher in the night; the wise one decided that he must see the Great Father in the Sky and offer his thoughts and a solution. He traveled to the Sun, where the Great Father sits in watch, and requested an audience, where he suggested that his friend the Fire-Bird would fly out into the Cosmos and visit other Galaxies and Universes where she could find a planet willing to return with him and become Earth’s companion.

And so it was decreed, that the Phoenix, the most beautiful of the Bird-Clan, would fly out into the black sky and find a companion for Mother Earth.

Everywhere he went and asked, but all the Planets had a home in their own Universe, and none was willing to leave and live far away. Phoenix was sad, because she was failing in her task, and she roamed the sky, afraid to return until he had had another bright idea to replace the first one. The Earth was big, and her Nature was to yield, and so the Fire-Bird thought that she could easily give a part of herself and give birth. Not only would she then have company, but then she would also blossom fully into her adulthood.

And so the Phoenix searched the sky for a life-giving stone, that class of stone that floats across the sky waiting for its opportunity to fertilize, and bring with it the designs of the Creator. Soon Phoenix had spotted one in the distance and reaching over she grabbed a hold of it and flew with such great speed towards the Earth that it burst into flames as it traveled across the sky. The heat was intense, it was consuming the Phoenix, and upon finally reaching its aim the Fire-Bird could not find the strength to let go, crashing into the Earth with such an impact that it was destroyed and the rock broken into 10 thousand pieces. The Great Stone from the Sky had been scattered all over the surface of the earth, only to be buried by the dust and ashes as they settled again and allowed light to return to Earth. So much dust had been raised that it had made night for many months. Yet when the dust settled there she was, the Moon, daughter of the Earth, floating around her mother in an eternal embrace. The earth was so happy with the moon that to this day it dances, circling round and round her daughter. The birth of the Moon had brought the great lessons of Motherhood to the earth.

From that moment on all the God-Heads were able to bring life to their own species, molding them from the mud and water around the Waterholes and slowly the grey earth became green and teeming with life.

But all was not right. Phoenix had died bringing the seed to Earth, and was now no more. Although happy to finally be expressed on the land and seas, all the Gods still mourned the loss, and once again Owl-Man took it upon himself to visit the Great Father in the Sun, Who recognizing the two Heroes; Phoenix in the forefront, and Owl-Man behind the scenes, decided to reward them manifold.

From the fiery eruption of a Volcano in the middle of the East-Ocean he brought the Phoenix back to life, conceding her eternal life, for now and ever, in the most beautiful of Dances of all. Whenever a species became extinct, Phoenix would thrust herself into the Volcano and let her body be consumed by the fire, so that she could in Spirit guide the Soul of the God-Head towards the House of the Father, where it could again be re-united with the Source. With the last being of its species the God-Head dies, and is led by the Fire-Bird home. When it returns Phoenix brings back a new God-Head, who will begin work to bring its species to existence upon this Earth. Phoenix is then reborn from the Volcano to again grace the inhabitants of this planet with her visits. She is present in every self sacrifice that takes place.

To Owl-Man, the all seeing wise one that blends into the background the Maker gave the invisible golden touch of intuition and seeing beyond. Away from prying eyes, when Owl-Man comes to Earth to whisper in the ears, or be present in the dreams of one of his children, he rests on the mythical Tree of Life, which turns gold until he leaves again. Many people have searched for Owl-Man throughout the Centuries here at Guanjama, and some claim to have glimpsed the God-Head sitting on the Golden Tree, shrouded in a thick white mist that only allows a fleeting glimpse before it once again veils the miracle.

And still today, everywhere in the world, hidden within the earth, one can still find pieces of that first seed that crashed into the Earth and gave birth to the Moon. Broken pieces of eternal beauty, that if found, bestow the greatest of blessings upon they who found them.

Posted on March 15, 2010 - by the raijin admirer

The Inside Story : The First Wave

Although this series of paintings were based on the myth: How the Earth Became a Mother, the story itself was based on another story; not one in the fashion of creation myths, but one following an entirely different concept altogether.

The inspiration for this first series of painting related to the myth is in reality a precursor to the story itself, as it is based on the philosophies and mind-set of the peoples that ‘own’ the myth.

The attempt is to put these notions in context and emulate the cave paintings and carvings that are the evidence from which, after thorough investigation, the myths have been finally compiled.

These are the engravings found in the caves of Dab-Shi, in the estuary of Guanjama. The caves were the homes first to the tribes of cave-dwellers, and later to the shamans and ascetics of posterior cultures. All, without exception left their mark in the walls, mostly in reference to this myth of How the Earth Became a Mother. It is part of a World-View that has long since disappeared from the mainstream but still lingers behind the scenes, bringing poetry to the lives of the few who embrace it.

It was believed in this region on Dab-Shi, in Guanjama, that within all living beings resided a mind divided into three filters of experience, called “The Three Bodies”, and a fourth external factor they named “The Ghost”.

“The Ghost” was the name given to all living external influences, be they visible or not, that could affect one’s behavior. It referred to the influence of all kinds of Spirits, without discriminating between Gods, Guardian Angels and Elementals, as well as Independent Energies, whether positive or negative in force.

The “Middle Body” signified Consciousness, or the “I”. All that was part of an association between the sense and the lived present was of this world, of the “Middle Body”, only subsequently being transferred and stored to the “Lower Body”, and with time completely disappearing in the depths of the Self. This was a world ruled by emotions and the processes of logic. The element of “Fire” was associated to the “Middle Body”.

The “Lower Body” was the repository of all experience and acquired information. There was no time there, only the eternal present. It was a Body, or dense state, with no tangible definition; and of difficult access beyond the superficial contact with memories and their associated sensations attributed by the “Middle Body”.
However, it was there, in the depths of the “Lower Body” that the final illumination could take place, in a simultaneous playing and burning of all moments lived in an ultimate epiphany. The “Lower Body” was ruled by the Earth element.

The “Higher Body” was white, neutral, and pure. Here resided the Immortality of Being, and the Ultimate Reality. This was a state which was always present, and always hidden, coloring every aspect of life in the “Middle Body”, yet who’s realization was untouchable until attainment of the illumination of the “Lower Body”. The attributed Element to the “Higher Body” was Air.

Posted on March 16, 2010 - by the raijin admirer

The Underlying Flair : The First Wave

The undefined abstract world is appealing to work in, for it allows total freedom from concept and form in the act, and lets the work emerge intuitively, almost unconsciously. The improvisational character of working in this field is liberating to say the least, and one can truly let the story tell itself, relegating his own position from that of a commanding creator to that of an active observer, performing the act of creation in a sort of magical hypnosis or trance while still maintaining lucidity and critic abilities.

There is something to be said about repetitious actions as well. To have a huge wall in front of you and ‘touching’ it, coloring it, mindlessly wandering along the surface forever changing what it is and represents with our tracks is something quite warming.

The root of this work is steeped in symbolism and so it as appropriate that the technique follows the same trend:

sym·bol (n).

Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.

And so it is…