Spirituality (2017)

Watercolour & Pen – 500 x 700mm

 

At the core of almost every spiritual belief is a set of moral principles, laws that seem to go beyond our own existence but yet are somehow pre-programmed into our being, passed down through our ancestors. Psychedelics, at one time central to religion, can give us a glimpse or more of this vast caravan of innate knowledge. We are transported back to a more humbled state, where things are much more simple and yet infinitely more complex. Right and wrong appear more vividly, and the nature of being is brought into question.

This piece explores the duality of reality, particularly with regard to spirituality and psychedelics. Two figures stand mirroring one another, one a representation of mystical experience and the other of spiritual belief. They are superimposed on a repeating outline, illustrating this eternal connection through space and time (light). Each is linked telepathically through the other’s third eye by a repeated infinity-weave with no ends.

At the centre of the piece lies the lotus flower, which is symbolically aligned with the enlightening state, having emerged from the muddy waters below. The red lotus (representing thinking from the heart, love, compassion) fades to a blue lotus (symbolising learning and wisdom). At the centre of the two, both positionally and chromatically, is the purple lotus, which bears both halves of mysticism and spirituality.