This is from William's Ethiopian series. It's a 'mudra' (sacred hand gesture) common to Buddhism, Christianity, & Hinduism - signifying peace. He tells me that the work he did for that series (one painting was titled "Pilgrim') was based on traditional Ethiopian magical scrolls, used in the healing rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Such scrolls are painted on the hides of sacrificed lambs; the person in need of healing is wrapped head to foot in these scrolls. After the ritual, the scrolls are buried. I imagine there will be items I wear or carry on this ritualized walk and then jettison once they've done their job. Shucking off skins when they're no longer needed.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
William's painting
This is from William's Ethiopian series. It's a 'mudra' (sacred hand gesture) common to Buddhism, Christianity, & Hinduism - signifying peace. He tells me that the work he did for that series (one painting was titled "Pilgrim') was based on traditional Ethiopian magical scrolls, used in the healing rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Such scrolls are painted on the hides of sacrificed lambs; the person in need of healing is wrapped head to foot in these scrolls. After the ritual, the scrolls are buried. I imagine there will be items I wear or carry on this ritualized walk and then jettison once they've done their job. Shucking off skins when they're no longer needed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment