From Earth to Sky

Two figures look up from their ocean home, through a place full with life, to the great sky, sun and stars above.

I read this totem artwork from the ground up. Your reading may be different and equally valid.

My first observation is of the work's overall symmetrical, constrained, and elevated form. A thin frame surrounds the image which appears to hold metaphorical significance. A representational work that invites interpretation. The lower, middle and higher sections are drawn together through a consistent technical approach yet have distinct colours and character. Throughout the work circular motifs are apparent or half hidden.

I look more closely at the lower blue and white section. Two figures appear to stand and gaze skyward. A limb reaches out from each torso. They almost touch, perhaps with hands, or feet that show their bony toes. Their wisp of hair implies captured movement. Their form is different. They are upright, their mouths agape, their limbs are not oriented as mine. I wonder whether the image represents a primitive past, or a primal state of my present being. The broad white outlined circle behind the two figures alludes to the moon, and from their centre line, a fountain of organic forms spread upward and fall outward.

The middle section overflows with animated shapes as if a monumental symbolic carving of living things. The colours are of life, from flamingo pink, to blood red and leaf green. An outline of thick gold surrounds the highest forms as if to heighten their value and significance.

Light flaxen hoops arch downward from the upper boundary. Perhaps the circles are symbolic of the sun's rays and importance for life, or the strength of it at different times of day or year. Towards the highest point, four roughly hewn objects hover, suspended, as if stars or distant worlds.

The furthest surrounding narrow edge shows the work to be purposeful, an image for others to view. This is not a hidden window onto a world, but rather a presentation of how a world is experienced in reverence and wonder.

 

A full size extract from the top left of the work is presented below.