Temple of the Occult @ Norman Rea Gallery, York

Temple of the Occult

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Preview: 15^th October (7-9pm)

15^th- 27^th October
Open Weekdays from 9am - 5pm, Weekend viewings by appointment

 Temple of the Occult is an installation type curatorial project which aims to explore artwork inspired by occult traditions. The exhibition takes the form of the interior of an imagined temple, becoming an installation made from the work of many artists. The exhibition itself is also a functioning shrine, containing religious truths concealed within its composition. In the Temple of the Occult these veiled truths start to bleed into the fabric of contemporary culture, albeit clothed in allegory and disguised by symbol.

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Of great historical significance is the artist Austin Osman Spare, represented in this exhibition by a print of Stele of the Zos Kia Cultus. Spare was an extremely prolific artist, occultist, and writer of the mid 20^th Century whose work (pictured left), is of essential significance to contemporary Occultism. Spare’s Zos Kia Cultus was a personal magico-religious philosophy which he devoted his life to developing.

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Hector de Gregorio, a contemporary occult artist currently attracting considerable attention, is also represented in the Temple. De Gregorio weaves together themes of piety and cruelty to create images saturated with an intoxicating religious darkness. De Gregorio’s prints reflect the dutiful study of Renaissance religious painting, with photographic collage providing a contemporary reinvigoration to a tradition of which painting was previously the sole preserve. His subjects are often the suffering bodies of extreme performance artists such as Franko B and Lee Adams. These sinister and mysterious contemporary figures flesh out De Gregorio’s archetypal depictions, embodying characters from the mythology of various traditions.

Temple of the Occult draws together occult artists from a various sources, several found through secretive occult Orders, others from their practice and involvement in contemporary exhibitions and events. Most of the artists in this exhibition are practising occultists, some of whom occupy leading positions in their respective Orders and have been initiated into the higher mysteries of their organisations.

Temple of the Occult runs from 15^th to 27^th October at The Norman Rea Gallery in York University. It is curated by Robin Spalding, a London based installation artist who has previously made similar installation type projects for Shunt and The Institute of Contemporary Art (London). For press inquiries please contact Robin Spalding at robin@robinspalding.co.uk.

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[1] Robin Spalding, Deliverance: Arrival at the Temple of Penance, giclee print on board, 30 x 42cm

[2] Austin Osman Spare, The Stele of the Zos Kia Cultus, giclee print on paper, kindly donated by Robert Ansell of Fulgur Esoterica

[3] Hector de Gregorio, Crux, giclee print hand finished by the artisthttp://www.robinspalding.co.uk/#!__temple-of-the-occult

Relics from Myth...Thelemite's Altar @ Bermondsey Project Space

http://www.robinspalding.co.uk/

After a year in the making I have finally finished Thelemite's Altar- or at least the first draft of it anyway.It's showing in Bermondsey Project Space from 30th June to 15th July.So far it has gone down pretty well, most people finding it "a bit Indiana Jones"  but hopefully interesting too.Last week the invigilator caught Charles Saatchi looking at it and registering "only a passing interest" , he apparently then went on to "express no specific emotion"... so I won't be waiting by the phone.

Thelemite's Altar

The altar is a mythological object, however it's inspirations have their roots in a genuine occult belief system. The inspirations on this one come from an belief system called "Thelema" which is a syncretic philiosophy combining the rituals and deities from many different ancient sources with a new prophecy, received by Aleister Crowley from the spirit Awaiss in 1904 (The Book of the Law). The altar holds a copy of this prophecy, nestled between all manner of gilded relief sculptures of a few choice deitys from the mythology.The installation holds the pretense of being a functional altar, which the viewer has stumbled upon (suspend disbelief here:) in a deserted corner of a South London warehouse.I'd like people to imagine it as a real functioning altar used by a practicing Thelemite (hence the title "Thelemite's Altar).

Close up of the Relics which sit on the altar

The real treasures on the altar (apart from the Book of the Law) are three legendary relics or talismans- which have been discovered recently (by me of course!) and are presented for their use as powerful elements in an unseen ritual or devotional act by said Thelemite.The relics are "Melchiors Gift to Christ" (the Gold given by a Zoroastrian Magi to Christ in the Nativity myth), King Solomon's Talisman used in the Sacred Magic ("found" in the foundations of The Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem. Solomon used the Sacred Magic to command the demon Asmodeus to build the Temple), Temple Relic Boleskine (thought to have been used by Crowley in the operation of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage).

All three of these treasured relics are of the same form, possibly meaning the same mysterious function in the ritual of The Sacred Magic- most accessably documented by Macgregor Mathers in his "The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage" - a fascinating read for anyone intrigued by esoteric religious practices.

There are plenty more symbols in the Altar, perhaps to be explained at a later date.Until then I urge you to have a look at the show in Bermondsey Project space (46 Willow Walk,London, SE1 5SF until 15th July) .It's a massive exhibition, also showing over 80 other artists in two huge warehouse spaces.It's not to be missed!

Information on the exhibition: http://www.bowarts.org/nunnery/bow-arts-open-2012-bow-arts-open-show

Art Under Will @ Atlantis (London,WC1)

Art Under Will ended this week.Many thanks to The Atlantis Bookshop and the Ordo Templi Orientis for organising a brilliant exhibition.
Atlantis bookshop was the perfect place for such an esoteric exhibition.The moment I arrived I knew this was the right context for my work.The first sign of this was that upon entry I immediately noticed the winged disk symbol appearing in the work of two other artists in the show.The winged disk is an ancient Assyrian and Egyptian symbol representing the sun, which is engraved onto the gold skull in Relics (a collection of false museum exhibits) to denote its alleged ownership by Melchior, one of three Zoroastrian Magi who visited Christ at his birth.  I previously thought this reference could be overlooked or misunderstood, with its meaning remaining half known- however during the course of the exhibition I realised this is one of the chief symbols used by the O.T.O. and it appears on the cover of The Book of The Law, the principle holy book of Thelema.

Melchiors Gift To Christ
 I often feel this piece is quite complex in more mainstream exhibition spaces.As it turned out however, the majority of those I spoke to found the ideas behind it very accessable.The beauty of the Atlantis bookshop is that it is non-deliberately exclusive to those that are knowledgeable about mythology and occultism. Relics tends not to sit comfortably in most exhibitions due to its obscure historical references,however in this environment of scholarly occultism,a stones throw from the British Museum, it felt quite at home.
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The Wound

Above is an image of The Wound which made it's first appearance at Art Under Will.It is a skinned pheasants head, cast in plaster and then gilded (with Silver) with an attached pheasant's skin (hung from a plaster base)and dyed chinchilla crest (not pictured)."The Wound" referred to is a biblical reference.The image above is an earlier version than that shown at Atlantis.

Two Exhibitions: Wunderkabinett and Art Under Will

I am currently showing work in these two exhibitions.Both spaces are really close to the British Museum, in the Bloomsbury area of London.

The first show is called "Wunderkabinett" and is held by Store Street Gallery, it's open from now until 26th April.It's a kind of curiosity museum type exhibition.This is the website for it  http://www.storestreetgallery.com/exhibitions/  .Their opening hours are Mon-Sat 11-6, address is 32 Store Street, WC1E 7BS.Nearest tube is Goodge Street.I'm showing a gilded relief triptych called Solar Myth.

I'm also in another show just up the road, opening on Saturday 31st April. The two shows overlap from 1-14th April.The second show is called "Art Under Will"  and is an exhibition of occult artwork, curated by the O.T.O, a Thelemic fraternity.It is being held in the esoteric bookshop; Atlantis, on Museum Street  (on a road opposite the British Museum).Address is 49A Museum Street, City of London,WC1A 1LY .The nearest tube is Holborn.It is also a brilliant esoteric bookshop (second only to Treadwells, which is interestingly next door to Store Street Gallery). I'm showing a few things here, one "Relics/Melchiors Gift to Christ", the other "Deliverance" and possibly a few more bits and bats.