MASTER TEMPLATE?

 

In my previous post Smorgasbord I explained that I had been having some fun painting a series of small paintings. They are all 10 x 15cm and gouache on paper. I've uploaded another 4 paintings for you.

As you can see my much loved tree-of-life motif is dominant. I love the way it can represent systems of all kinds. I often wonder if the form of a tree holds the secret to the ultimate template of life in our universe or...maybe...multi-universe? I wonder if it holds the code to, what could be called, the master template. In my imagination I can 'see' how the tree, with its branches and roots, hints at the substance of the nano at the same time as giving clues to the forces which propel the universal and vast.

 

Regular readers will understand my interest in the forces which possibly link the nano and vast. My fascination with perspective, both literal and metaphoric, has taken me on an exploration of the close and far distances between them. I 'see' this exploration as holding clues to how we could negotiate the distance between the local and global, as we live locally in an increasingly globalised world. Yet, our struggle seems so small when placed against the life forces propelling all existence. It kind of puts it into perspective don't you think?

 

 

The secrets encoded in age-old symbols, such as the tree-of-life, are a constant fascination to me. I am interested in representing the 'tree' in a way which means something to us in the 21st century, rather than it being simply of historical importance. So, whilst I enjoy looking at, and reading about, past representations of the tree-of-life, I believe that the potential of age-old symbols is tethered if we merely replicate previous portrayals. The potency of  these symbols is that they hold core truths that can be understood, if investigated and contemplated, over eons. This potency does not dissipitate into the vagaries of fashion, or the vacuousness of celebrity, or the pithy meaninglessness of transient symbols. Rather, it resonates at deep core levels of life and existence, even if we cannot quite put our finger on it.  

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/