Ritual
Ritual
For me, ritual offers the possibility of encountering hidden aspects of the self, the other, and the cosmos by providing a protective structure within which we may momentarily relinquish control. Ritual asks that we trust our selves, our inner knowing and wisdom: it connects us to a realm where imagination and the spirit become manifest in matter and where the body merges with its surroundings.
Devising rituals is akin to writing poetry; condensing intuition, sensation, feeling and thinking into compact, highly symbolic forms. These forms lie dormant until brought to life through enactment; the carrying through of unconscious intentions and wishes.
Making rituals has been part of my life and art practice for many years. Some rituals emerge from actively engaging the imagination and other from everyday life: a conscious glint of awareness into the soul of the simplest activity makes itself known to me. With the utmost care I feel my way around its shape and wait for it to dissolve into words and form. Rituals emerge from cooking, baking bread, growing plants, collecting wood, collecting rainwater, making fires, waiting for the first hawthorn blossoms, cleansing my house with frankincense, walking in the darkness.
Sometimes rituals emerge alongside paintings; a different way of attempting to describe glimpses into the unfamiliar unconscious.