| Omphalos |
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According to Greek myth, Zeus wanted to find the center of the world and sent out two eagles
to fly in opposite directions until they met. This meeting place was called the ‘omphalos’ or
navel. A stone was placed to mark this sacred navel of the earth and it was believed that this
stone allowed direct communication with the gods. The omphalos marks our connection to the
cosmos, the meeting place between the underworld and heavens, the center point of the axis
mundi.
The omphalos is the nexus of our lives. We travel the axis mundi constantly, each new
moment a death and a rebirth. Old ideas and identities fade, while new realizations take hold.
We die and are reborn on many levels all the time, yet we fear the death of our physical
bodies. We try to ignore this inevitable fate but it is always looming near our center,
influencing our actions, always in the back of our minds. We constantly travel between the
hells of our own making, our perceived separations; and the bliss of unity and awareness.
My art has revolved around these themes of death and change in recent years. Family
members, friends and beloved pets have crossed to different realms, leaving me to face this
inevitable truth. It cannot be ignored and it hovers on the edges of my awareness daily. Yet,
in looking back over my life, I find that I have already died many times. The person I was years
ago is gone; dreams eroded, plans gone awry. New ideas, new dreams, new relationships
have evolved. Change has been constant, death and rebirth happening simultaneously.
There has been great loss, but also many gifts and awakenings.
This installation reflects many of my very personal experiences, using universal archetypes
along with influences from Hungarian architecture, medieval transi tombs, the bone chapels of
Europe and the lyrics of Neil Young and Dan Fogelberg. Much of it is ceramic, my favorite
medium. Parts of it are cobbled together from discarded fragments of houses, representing
places from my childhood; places that, like reliquaries hold memories.
to fly in opposite directions until they met. This meeting place was called the ‘omphalos’ or
navel. A stone was placed to mark this sacred navel of the earth and it was believed that this
stone allowed direct communication with the gods. The omphalos marks our connection to the
cosmos, the meeting place between the underworld and heavens, the center point of the axis
mundi.
The omphalos is the nexus of our lives. We travel the axis mundi constantly, each new
moment a death and a rebirth. Old ideas and identities fade, while new realizations take hold.
We die and are reborn on many levels all the time, yet we fear the death of our physical
bodies. We try to ignore this inevitable fate but it is always looming near our center,
influencing our actions, always in the back of our minds. We constantly travel between the
hells of our own making, our perceived separations; and the bliss of unity and awareness.
My art has revolved around these themes of death and change in recent years. Family
members, friends and beloved pets have crossed to different realms, leaving me to face this
inevitable truth. It cannot be ignored and it hovers on the edges of my awareness daily. Yet,
in looking back over my life, I find that I have already died many times. The person I was years
ago is gone; dreams eroded, plans gone awry. New ideas, new dreams, new relationships
have evolved. Change has been constant, death and rebirth happening simultaneously.
There has been great loss, but also many gifts and awakenings.
This installation reflects many of my very personal experiences, using universal archetypes
along with influences from Hungarian architecture, medieval transi tombs, the bone chapels of
Europe and the lyrics of Neil Young and Dan Fogelberg. Much of it is ceramic, my favorite
medium. Parts of it are cobbled together from discarded fragments of houses, representing
places from my childhood; places that, like reliquaries hold memories.
| Installation view |
| Altar: Birth/Aspirations |
| Detail, Altar |
| Reliquary: Memento Mori |
| Reliquary |
| Reliquary, detail |
| Reliquary, detail |
| Axis Mundi:Ascension/Transformation |
| Axis Mundi |
| Hell:Separation/Fragmentation |
| Hell. Detail |
| Installation view |
| Axis Mundi with Hell wallpiece |