Sacred Botanical

60 x 90 cm / 24 x 36 inches
Available for sale $5000
This painting was winner of the People's Choice Award at the Blake Prize 2024

Artist Statement
One’s spiritual / religious lineage is a fundamental link to our past. The vast devotional body of work, ephemeral and extant, that our ancestors investigated, explored and gifted us, exists in the hope that we would, in times of conflict be held secure in belonging & community.
This work, Sacred Botanical, is an exploration of my spiritual lineage.  Depicted throughout this work are the sacred plants of the Bible, along with plants sacred to the Druids and early Celtic Christians.
The botanical plants, in their lacing and intertwining on the canvas, are designed to form the ghosted image of the Chi-Rho (☧)- one of the oldest known Christograms.

The botanical plants depicted, sacred to the Druids and early Celtic Christians, are the Yew, Ivy, Oak & Mistletoe.
The sacred plants depicted from the Bible are the Anemone, Rose, Madonna lily, Grape & Iris.
Each plant had its own sacred meaning and use to the ancestors.

The olive branch has come to be understood as a universal symbol of peace (ancient Greek), and was added, as the painting evolved, as a fervent wish for peace in this time of current conflict.  

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