The massive Skull, in the background of the painting, is where we begin our journey. This Skull represents the seed or the first ancestor and the celestial design of the human germ.

Painting — Oil on Canvas (42cm x72cm) By Shunyata 1999

I find the dogmatic entrenchment of intellectual analysis boring when compared to initiatory intuitive experiences, that unveil the living memory that links past with future, species with species and all universal expressions to one another. This memory is like the seed which is liked to the fruit as well as to the root.

The once unquestionable assumptions presented as truth by science, are slowly being shattered as it re-discovers the age old wisdom of the mystic seer. The cycles of the natural world and our existence within them, tend to become strained and closed in, as is seen in the constraining structure of our cities. Science with all its obvious benefits is absolutely insufficient when compared to the living wisdom that creates life itself.

Through the shift of our changing perception, it is hopeful that language can be used to re-establish the root power of sound which conveys the full-bodied expression of nature. It is now time for us to re-discover Heaven on Earth.

The path back to our transcendent, Earth-loving and caring selves is paved at the beginning, turns to a dirt track and then as we progress, the magnetic veins of the Earth become our guide.

Sacred symbology is the magic language of remembering who and what we are. The background of all human existence is the very principle of humanity.

The massive Skull, in the background of the painting, is where we begin our journey. This Skull represents the seed or the first ancestor and the celestial design of the human germ.

The face of masculinity is pictured in its right eye with femininity in its left. Both being surrounded by the devilish faces of neurosis and disharmony, suggests that the pure nature of our autonomous sexuality is under the influence of perverted social codes and misdirected (or unimformed) puritan morality. These shape the arbitrary, reactionary systems of justice that oppose the true maturation, evolution and basic constituents of the human being.

This unhealthy scenario permeating the world today has been enforced by the fear and insecurity which it, itself breeds. In effect it shows that we have been and are being shrewdly led away from the greatness of our potential and given in return meaningless slogans that suggest progress.

The mouth and teeth of this macrocosmic Skull are surrealistically represented by the coiled body of a huge serpent. The serpent is a representation of universal sexuality. Its head protrudes to form the mouth of the small Skull and here represents individual sexuality.

In dreams and mythological themes across the world, the serpent is a powerful representative of the sexual force. This force vitale carries the human genus from generation to generation and thus unites the first embodiment with the last, spanning the entire duration of not only the human species but of all manifestations of life.

Sex nourishes the genetic lineage with continuity and youth. It is to the evolving family what food is to the evolving individual. These fundamental aspects of existence are not man-made; they are put into effect and reigned over by the powers that create, constitute and guide the ceremony of temporal existence.

As the serpent’s tongue streams forth it transforms into an infant’s umbilical cord. The infant is humanity whose umbilical cord is linked to the nourishing capacity of a greater body, the Earth Mother’s fertile creativity.

The two vipers rising out of the infant’s buttocks penetrate the smaller individualised Skull and weave their bodies out through the sockets of its eyes. This illustrates the potent relationship between the individual and the genetic lineage, for it shows that the infant’s ‘roots’ are intimately connected to and in a sense continue the perception of its ancestors. The aspects forming each individual stem from and continue the thoughts and experiences of their predecessors.

The lightning bolt piercing through the Skull’s crown represents the inspiration of life both entering and leaving each individual shell of destiny. In the ‘macro’ Skull’s third eye, a beautiful maiden is bearing water across a fertile expanse of land and represents not only the field of imagination, but also the emotive body that carries the feeling essence of existence through each living Skull. It is an opening into the timeless and expanded realm of archetypical principles.

The skull is the gateway to greater realization and its bone quality suggests endurance and strength. It serves as a reminder that life itself is only one face of death. When a cat eats a mouse, the mouse dies, yet the conscious stuff from which it is made is absorbed into the conscious make-up of the cat, thereby preserving its life. The cycle of existence is propelled by a symbiosis of death. This piece features a large hand carved deer horn skull with cerebral Mohawk. Set in approx. 50 grams, of 99.9 Silver, are five Moldavite Stele.