Atlantis II
Apocalyptic Raw Art Sculptures Series
apokálypsis meaning revealing or uncover – a disclosure or revelation of important knowledge. The sculptures are intended to illustrate apocalyptic meaning by reducing sculptural form to white and shadows. It is visibly apparent, and science agrees, that mankind is heading towards a self-inflicted man-made apocalypse. Man’s impact on the sea and sea life. is documented as the Atlantis II series sculptures are up-cycled from plastic fishing materials washed up on local Mayo beaches. The exhibited raw artworks are meant as ‘parables’ and danger warnings for this imminent man-made Atlantic ecosystem apocalypse.
The idea for this exhibition comes from Plato’s ‘Atlantis’ which, based originally on Egyptian accounts, refers to a legendary ancient civilization, a mighty sea people, inhabiting Islands and a continent in the Atlantic Ocean beyond the Mediterranean Sea and ‘the pillars of Heracles” – Gibraltar. Ireland, which may have been part of this legend, is in danger of becoming Atlantis II – another civilisation destroyed by the Atlantic’s rising sea levels caused largely by man-made climate change and damage to our eco system.. Archeologists in a few thousand years may dig up evidence of our past existence on the Atlantic seabed where Clew Bay and Westport once stood along with the evidence of the mercenary scramble for resources that systematically caused this apocalypse.
E = mc² : The Illusion of Cosmic Time
…“Zeit ist eine Illusion” Albert Einstein
Time echoes across space as the invisible thread that connects our existence to an expanding cosmos all the way back to the ‘Big Bang’. This E = mc² series “The Illusion of Cosmic Time” is inspired by the centenary of Einstein’s Relativity Theory and the Nobel Prize winning detection of Einstein’s prediction of gravitational waves caused by merging black holes in 2015, as
well as the capture of the first image of a black hole (M87) in 2019. The E = mc² theme highlights the fact that not only scientists but also artists are exploring the universe to unravel the mysteries surrounding our existence in the context of spacetime.
Reminiscent of Homer’s epic sailing voyage, our galactic odyssey in this expanding ocean of spacetime might be heading toward a dark era and oblivion or to another dimension. Living in a sand castle on the tidal shoreline of eternity may be a valid analogy for mankind’s brief blip on the arrow of time in this ever changing, morphing universe.
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness….” Albert Einstein
Odyssey to Eternity
Man, throughout the ages, has always sensed a mysterious grand design in the vastness of eternity that echoes across space and time. Ever since humans began consciously gazing up at the stars we have been on a spiritual and scientific quest to explore time, the forces of creation and our place and future in the universe. Whether conscious of the fact or not…all of us on earth are in this moment of time on an ‘Odyssey to Eternity’, a spacetime expedition which is not only spearheaded by Cosmologists, Astronomers and Theoretical Physicists but also ‘Saints and Scholars’ and artists.
“The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books—-a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects”. Albert Einstein
This art series is complimented by a photography series Odyssey to Eternity : Photography Exhibition
“Parables”
The Word parable originates from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), literally “throwing” (bolē) “alongside” (para-), by extension meaning “comparison, illustration, analogy.
When asking an artist about the deeper meaning of one his paintings, he clarified: “If you can’t see it for yourself there is no point explaining it to you !”.
I can see his point… especially when the message is intended for a particular audience. In contradistinction, to illustrate abstract concepts, I am using visual art ‘Parables’ to attempt to illuminate particular art analogies.
Odyssey
‘Odyssey’ is defined as a long and eventful or adventurous journey or experience. Life is an Odyssey along the arrow of time, full of unexpected adventurous encounters, both physically and spiritually, as was Homer’s sailing Odyssey through the Agean archipelago and Mediterranean. Having sailed some of the same waters and traveled widely as a photographer, this continual series of paintings and mixed media illustrates some of these encounters over time.
This art series is complimented by a photography series Odyssey : Photography Exhibition