Sunday, January 11, 2009
Monday, February 04, 2008
CLAN OF THE CAVE MOUSE
There was once a mouse that was so hungry he ate everything in the world. When he had eaten everything around, he was left alone on an island. Years passed, and he constructed a boat to search for food. When he found land, the people feared he would start eating again. They locked him in an underground cave. As man became more civilized and improved, he remained locked underground, repressed and degraded.
The Cave Mouse is represented through two bodies of work in different media. The paintings deal with the Cave Mouse as demon or ghost. They depict the Cave Mouse inhabiting persons with forbidden desires or mourning the dead. Forbidden desires must be confronted in order for the power of demons to lesson. The mourning process detaches memories and expectations of the living from the dead. The ghosts and demons can then be transformed into ancestors to be appealed to for help in times of distress.
The ceramic heads depict the Cave Mouse as ancestor. Each has an opening into an inaccessible darkened interior. This is the opening through which the power of the forbidden desire or the spirit of the dead enters and is trapped. Meditation on these icons can protect against enemies and dangers. If venerated they do no harm, if ignored they can wreak havoc and destruction. It is common to put one above a doorway or bed.
There was once a mouse that was so hungry he ate everything in the world. When he had eaten everything around, he was left alone on an island. Years passed, and he constructed a boat to search for food. When he found land, the people feared he would start eating again. They locked him in an underground cave. As man became more civilized and improved, he remained locked underground, repressed and degraded.
The Cave Mouse is represented through two bodies of work in different media. The paintings deal with the Cave Mouse as demon or ghost. They depict the Cave Mouse inhabiting persons with forbidden desires or mourning the dead. Forbidden desires must be confronted in order for the power of demons to lesson. The mourning process detaches memories and expectations of the living from the dead. The ghosts and demons can then be transformed into ancestors to be appealed to for help in times of distress.
The ceramic heads depict the Cave Mouse as ancestor. Each has an opening into an inaccessible darkened interior. This is the opening through which the power of the forbidden desire or the spirit of the dead enters and is trapped. Meditation on these icons can protect against enemies and dangers. If venerated they do no harm, if ignored they can wreak havoc and destruction. It is common to put one above a doorway or bed.




























































