Axis Mundi
“No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”
C.G.Jung
It is said a picture tells a thousand words, and the quote from Carl Jung is but a few that I can add to my latest painting “Axis Mundi”.
The painting began as an experiment in working with leaf metal and then painting on it. Two artists, Brad Kunkle and Steven DaLuz, have particularly inspired me to attempt to work oils on this surface. The effects they can achieve are stunning. I have seen some of Brad Kunkle’s works in the flesh at the former Strychnin Gallery in Berlin.
And yes, the painting is clearly inspired from the movie, “The Fountain”. However, it clearly echoes, or dare I say, has roots in the image of the World Tree, World Axis, or as its name says, Axis Mundi.
The Axis Mundi is a concept that exists in many cultures through out the world, as connection between the underworld and heaven, with the trunk of the tree passing through, our mundane world. Renowned Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, understood this as a connection between the subconscious and conscious realms of self.
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