Axis MundiShrine202411" x 21" x 71"Mixed media (Click for details)
In early 2019 I stumbled upon a remarkable, and very old, Shingon Buddhist shrine in a museum in Paris. The centerpiece of the shrine is a flame-wrapped serpent (Kurikara), a manifestation of the great protector-king Fudo Myo-o. The artistic imagery and technical skill of that masterpiece artwork has been on my mind ever since. Years later, the echoes of that encounter find their way into 'Axis Mundi', a continuation of my journey exploring a changing sense of the sacred.
Axis Mundi - the cosmic pillar that holds together the realms of the world, both heavenly and earthly; a point of connection between the physical and spiritual worlds. The flames found throughout Buddhist artwork, symbolic of both purification and transformation, are a fitting, if sobering, reminder of a modern world beginning to burn in the heat of a changing climate. As temperatures rise across the planet, habitats for wildlife like this magnificent reptile are often compressed or even eliminated altogether, threatening the long term future of many valuable species.
I acquired this timber rattlesnake skin fifteen years ago at a barn sale of a local friend. Her father, who had recently passed away, had squirreled this skin away among his tools and ladders. The door knobs were originally part of vintage Japanese cabinet.
In early 2019 I stumbled upon a remarkable, and very old, Shingon Buddhist shrine in a museum in Paris. The centerpiece of the shrine is a flame-wrapped serpent (Kurikara), a manifestation of the great protector-king Fudo Myo-o. The artistic imagery and technical skill of that masterpiece artwork has been on my mind ever since. Years later, the echoes of that encounter find their way into 'Axis Mundi', a continuation of my journey exploring a changing sense of the sacred.
Axis Mundi - the cosmic pillar that holds together the realms of the world, both heavenly and earthly; a point of connection between the physical and spiritual worlds. The flames found throughout Buddhist artwork, symbolic of both purification and transformation, are a fitting, if sobering, reminder of a modern world beginning to burn in the heat of a changing climate. As temperatures rise across the planet, habitats for wildlife like this magnificent reptile are often compressed or even eliminated altogether, threatening the long term future of many valuable species.
I acquired this timber rattlesnake skin fifteen years ago at a barn sale of a local friend. Her father, who had recently passed away, had squirreled this skin away among his tools and ladders. The door knobs were originally part of vintage Japanese cabinet.
