THE MYTH OF ALCHEMY

Murray Darling Currency Oil on linen 122 x 153 cm 2011

Alchemy, the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir:   [ http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/alchemy ]

I am sure most readers will have an understanding of the alchemic myth. The idea that base metals could be transformed into gold or silver has fascinated me since I was a child, long before I realised these stories were more than just stories. Many of them were associated with greed, where wealth, of the economic kind, could be conjured out of thin air...or boring base metals. However, history's alchemists did lay the ground work for modern chemistry, when at some point, in the 18th century, science separated its processes from mythology and spirituality/religion.

                                                      Last Witness Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2012

I have previously written about the alchemic myth, in relation to my painting 'Last Witness' [Above]. This is what I wrote:

Last Witness

The red tree, representing the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of- life symbol, stands as the last witness to humankind’s prosaic mutation of the alchemic myth of transformation. At its most profound the myth can be understood as a transformation into transcendence. Humankind’s frantic desire to transform nature’s gifts into commodities, where the most significant value is economic, shatters the alchemic myth’s potential to reveal, and revel in, the many dimensions of the meaning of ‘value’.

In ‘Last Witness’ the top part of the painting is a deliberately ambiguous ‘landscape’. Small brush strokes create a tapestry of colour which could be interpreted as sky, rain, a forest, land and water contours, and more. Towards the bottom half of the painting, these elements are transformed into another ambiguous ‘landscape’ created with small $ signs. When viewed from a distance these $ signs are not discernible, yet they become obvious when viewed up close. I am asking the question ‘Have we noticed?’

There is hope though. The red tree, the last witness to plundering in the name of monetary value and progress, is surrounded by small white dots giving a halo-like, portal like, seemingly illuminative presence. The tree stands as witness, but also as guide and illuminator to other alternatives. The tree, as the tree-of-life, represents the vigour of life with its vascular like branches and its pulsating red. It beckons us to ask better questions. It provokes us into conversations where new perspectives are illuminated. It reminds us of the beauty we lose if one dimensional interpretations of value erode the fulsome capacities of transformation.

EXTRACTION - PROCESSING - MINING

Regular readers will know of my concerns about the rush to extract gas from coal seams and the massive increase in open cut mining, plus the enormous extraction, processing and export infrastructure needed to support all this activity. Is the planet a huge alchemist's cauldron? Are we all crossing our fingers that the processes of transformation from mineral to commodity, to energy, to money can be sustained? Seems to me that this kind of simple thinking... wishful thinking...verges on an archaic and vulgarised idea of alchemic transformation. I suspect post modernism's decline into slippery narcisistic tendencies has stirred and perpetuated a superficial, even glossy, notion of the vulgarised alchemic myth. In November 2008 I wrote a BLOG post called 'After The Implosion' where I discuss some of my thoughts about the role post modernism played in the GFC. I believe these insidious influences are still at play albeit under attack!

THINKING DIFFERENTLY

So...maybe we just need to think differently. Easier said than done, you might say. But is it? Indeed, it might take effort, meaningful effort, but we can change the way we think, the way we interpret/question and react to data, information, experience... mythologies even. Last week I attended a fascinating lecture given by Prof. Michael Merzenich, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience, University of California at San Francisco: Chief Scientific Officer, Posit Science. I first came across Prof. Merzenich in the fabulous book by Dr. Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself. Regular readers will remember I have written about this book a few times. Previous posts are HERE and HERE and HERE

Modern research into brain plasticity is showing we can rewire, recalibrate our brains to overcome things like stroke, brain injury, ADHD and other problems which manifest in reductive physical and emotional capacities [even old age!]. Given this, it should be even easier to change a normal healthy brain to think differently, more tangentially, to see more links between things, disrupt automatic prejudicial thinking etc...shouldn't it? Can we stir imaginational capacities? Can we [re] awaken critical thinking abilities? 

I have read two articles in the last week that refer to thinking. They provide a glimmer of hope that new paradigms for knowledge creation, and how we relate to the planet and ourselves, are emerging. They are not without risk, but nothing ever is. The first was 'SCIENCE IS NOT ABOUT CERTAINTY: A PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS: A Conversation with Carlo Rovelli' in The Edge. The second was 'Craig Venter’s 'Bugs Might Save the World' by Wil S. Hylton, in the New York Times. Both fascinating articles, which in different ways, gave breath to thinking, imagination, risk, joy and fun! Reading these after hearing Prof Merzenich's lecture really got me thinking!

A one dimensional prosaic interpretation of the alchemic myth, can be eroded and reconstructed to become one of multi dimensions, where the processes of transformation are more about how the human race can change and grow, and less about how the human race simply uses the world.

$oils Ain't $oils Anymore!  

The painting below is  $oils Ain't $oils Anymore!  Here's a link to my previous post for this painting. Briefly though, this painting, and Murray Darling Currency [at the top of the page], each 'talk' about the prosaic alchemic myth, by questioning 'value'. In each, as in Last Witness, part of the landscape is created with small $ signs. In Murray Darling Currency the area of the Murray Darling is painted with small blue $ signs, playing with the word currency. The tree... the tree-of-life...creates the landscape of continent and sea as it cascades across the canvas. It seems to ask, is a $ value the only way to 'value' life? Maybe there are other ways, as well as monetary, that can be used to 'value'....which may help us to re-evaluate, re-configure, re-think how we also apply $ values? 

                                          $oils Ain't $oils Anymore Oil on linen 70 x 100 cm 2010

Until next time!
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

SUPER HEROES

When I Was A Child I Dreamt I could Fly  Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2004

Last week I took myself off to the movies. Yes, alone. None of my kids wanted to see this particular movie! Can you believe it?! The movie was 'The Avengers' I bought myself a chocolate covered ice cream and settled into my seat. I loved the movie. Yes, I am a fan of fantasy action packed cinema.

But, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the improbable feats of bravery and bravado, I left the cinema feeling a touch of sadness. Why?

Well...if movies reflect society's underlying beliefs, demeanors, spirit and confidence, this film, for me anyway, revealed much about society's despondency, feelings of lack of strength and direction...that 'things', such as global economic degradation, ongoing wars, global warming, cost of living etc,  are just too big for mere human kind to overcome, let alone solve. So, unlike in most other super hero films, where there is normally one heart throbbing super hero saving the day, this film 'The Avengers' is about a cluster of super heroes conscripted to save life on Earth from nighmare-ish alien cyborgian- reptilian like monsters which are allowed to escape from a portal to another universe-like place, mythological Asgard. These monsters are the soldiers of a really bad guy called Loki, a character borrowed from Norse mythology. He is the adopted son of Odin, a ruler of Asgard. He was raised by Odin as a son, alongside his biological son Thor.  

Yes, and Thor is also one of the super heroes, who is pitted against his adopted brother. Thus, we have the age-old Abel and Cain-like story weaving through the action. Thor is joined by Captain America, Ironman, Black Widow, and The Hulk. Each joins the team with some initial reluctance, but their recruiter, legendary director of the peace keeping organisation S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury convinces them, at the same time as coercing and over-riding edicts from what appears to be some kind of global government committee. As a team, with some endearing dysfunction, the super heroes save the world with might, strength, some intellect, authority, larrikanism and humour.

After thinking about my feeling of sadness, I realised that maybe this film is a reflection of society's general malaise about the seeming enormity of problems facing the planet and its inhabitants ie: us. Indeed, modern media has a 'wonderful' way of infiltrating not only our lounge rooms, but also our psyches with constant reportage of mayhem and disaster across all aspects of life. It's exhausting! 'The Avengers' tells me that as a human race... a global society... we want to be saved, we are yearning to be saved, by heroes. But, then again, maybe this is a normal reaction to feeling of being on the brink, given that our ancestors of eons ago, believed in the powers of mythological Gods and Goddesses. When we don't know what to do we resort to mythology! But, maybe this is not as delusional as it may initially appear to be. Maybe superheroes, myth and legend spark a primal element within us which rejuvinates our energies, forces us to look at different perspectives, rekindles faith...maybe?

The character of Nick Fury, whilst not a super hero, is a pivotal grounding human presence. He is tough, he is brave, he is a 'real' leader. I think his defiance of the 'government committee' which only appeared a few times in massive overhead screens, is heroic in itself. His character represents a yearning for leadership, for someone to make inspired decisions, for someone to facilitate and enable super heroes! And, just maybe...just maybe...given the right circumstances and leadership, you and I could be a 'super heroes' too. 

It is a shame that only one of the super heroes was a female. Maybe they could have sqeezed in another? Or even had Thor's mother Gaea sweep her Earth Mother magic across the land, especially after the destruction wrought by the end-of-film battle between the forces of good and bad. But, where would that place a sequel, which is hinted at during the credits at the end of the film? 

I have uploaded the painting above, because it was inspired by my childhood dreams of flying. 'When I Was A Child I Dreamt I Could Fly' has a figure of a girl, propelled by red energy forces, flying above the Earth, accompanied by the moon. Yes, I did have 'flying' experiences. Indeed, even though I had never been in a plane above my parent's farm, I knew what the farm buildings, yards, silos and water tanks, gardens and roads looked like from above. When I watch movies like 'The Avengers' and see characters such as Thor and Ironman flying, I 'know' exactly how it feels!!! Really!

As a child, I had all sorts of fantasies about saving the world, from being a gutsy fighter pilot to being an intrepid missionary, to being a famous scientist! What were your fantasies?

Below are a couple of other paintings which depict flying. Both these paintings show a bride flying above a landscape. I don't think she is a super hero, but hey who knows?

 Flying Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2003

Living With Distance Oil on linen 120 x 160 [diptych]

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

DISTANCE-LESS-NESS

Detail of as yet untitled painting I am currently working on.

Detail of as yet untitled painting I am currently working on.

The two images above are close-up details of the painting I am currently working on. This painting is a further investigation of my ideas which I explored in 'In the Garden of Eden' which was the subject of my BLOG post of August 5 . http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/08/garden-of-eden.html Again the tree-of-life and the tree-of-knowledge are pivotal motifs, but like 'In the Garden Of Eden' I have included Adam and Eve ,who for me, simply represent humankind. The crossing over of the two trees creates and reclaims the feminine symbol of the sacred Yoni which meaningfully implies the feminine within all.

In the new painting I have painted Adam asleep. In the bible story he was put into a sleep state to allow for the extraction of his rib to form Eve. Following is a quote from my August 5 BLOG post...."She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him." [Jamieson-Fausset Brown Bible Commentary] Eve eternally shares a part of Adam just as Adam also experiences the feminine. The absent part of his rib represents Eve's presence within. Absentia does not mean lack of inclusion. With these thoughts in mind culpability for the Temptation ascribed soley to Eve seems rather lame or perhaps opportunistic.

It has been suggested that the Bible story actually does not record Adam ever waking up, thus posing a very interesting proposition. In fact, is life an illusion or a dream? Are we Adam's dream into which we are propelled in order to sort out the big questions posed by the battle between good and evil [error]? This proposition opens up a myriad of questions which go to the core of existence...and not just in this human dimension. This is the power of myth.

This brings me to a very interesting post on the Elightenment Next BLOG http://blog.enlightennext.org/?p=1723 The post includes an article called TRUE JIHAD by Elizabeth Debold. She suggests that the true jihad is, in fact, the battle of the ego with the spiritual potential within us all. I quote, 'The truer, greater meaning of jihad refers to the battle for the utter liberation of the spirit from the tyrannical nafs—the unconscious motivation in the human psyche that insists on separation and division. The nafs—or ego—is the ultimate terrorist, changing disguises with shape-shifting ease, scurrying within the labyrinth of the mind, setting off explosions of fear and rage, never quite visible until war has been declared and a warrant for its capture, dead or alive, has been issued.'

I have previously written on the BLOG about the role of myth. As time goes on I have an even great sense that misplacement of myth ,which I believe is largely a result of post modernism's slippery decline into narcissism and glorified pastiche, is a far greater loss than we may have realised. For me, myth is a conduit to the inner sanctums of the spiritual potential within us all. Myth will take people places that are undreamed or unimagined until they are awakened. And, upon awakening there is the potential for more discovery. Post modernism forces a sense of sitting outside with enticements to enter, but upon entry it slips away. This, of course is its arrogant subtefuge, because it knows that if discovered there is nothing there. Myth, on the other hand, beckons with its depth and confident potency. I have written about post modernism @ http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/11/after-implosion.html

Debold, in her article True Jihad admits to the role of post modernism when she says, 'In my postmodern arrogance, I assumed that the great traditions lacked the sophistication of our modern psychological understanding. But, increasingly, I am coming to understand that it is our contemporary view that lacks depth because, so often, it blunts the sharpness of distinctions that give dignity to the human struggle.'

I am particularly interested in Debold's arguments about ego. I won't go into a broad discussion about it, but I will make some comments with reference to art/artists and ego. Readers of my BLOG would know that I have previously written about ego with reference to my experiences exhibiting in the Middle East and the conversations I had with people who came to my exhibitions from all over the region, Africa and Eastern Europe. As a result of these conversations I realised I do not complete my paintings. They are, in fact, completed by every conversation they stimulate. These conversations can be internally with oneself or with others. Thus, my paintings have the potential to have multiple completions. When I realised this I had to consciously let go of my ego, because I recognised that a part of me wanted to hold onto the meaning of my work. Yet, when I thought about it, each person I had had a conversation with drew more from my work than I had initially ascribed. In fact, by holding on I was a limiting factor. By letting go, I feel free and I know my work is free to do whatever its potential is.

What struck me was that the tree-of-life motif was the element which drew people into conversation with me. This transcultural/religious motif needed no explanation, yet I had used it in non-traditional ways. The willingness of people to share their dreams, hopes, ideas and sometimes despair with me was very humbling. Yet, it was really the power of one motif which opened up the commuication. This motif is intrinsic to many stories from across religions and cultures. This motif has helped my understand the importance of myth.

So, for me myth is timeless and eternal. Through myth we can find rich pathways to the inner sactums of our spiritual potential. If this is the case, then time seems inconsequential. And, as I have written before, if time does not exist then neither does distance and space. Maybe myth is a way to distance-less-ness where axiomatically there are no limits to Myth's capacity.

Kathryn

PS: I should finish my new painting in the next week.

PPS: This painting has been preselected for the $15,000 Manning Art prize announced 19 Sept http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/05/angels-wings.html