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.
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 Relics tends not to sit comfortably in most exhibitions due to its obscure historical references,however in this environment of scholarly occultism,a stones throw from the British Museum, it felt quite at home.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.
