WELLS OF MIMIR REVISITED
passive drawing documentation
MIMIR IS IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY WISE BEING, A COUNSELOR OF THE GODS AND OFTEN THOUGHT OF AS THE ANIMATING FORCE BEHIND THE WISDOM OF PAST TRADITION AND ITS INDISPENSABLE VALUE AS A GUIDE FOR PRESENT ACTIONS. AT THE CENTER OF THE NORSE SPIRITUAL COSMOS IS AN ASH TREE, YGGDRASIL WHICH CONTAINS ALL 9 WORLDS OR BRANCHES OF EXISTENCE, THIS TREE GROWS FROM THE CENTER OF MIMIR’S WELL.
THE WATERS OF THE WELL WERE BELIEVED TO CONTAIN WISDOM, NORSE GOD ODIN IS SAID TO HAVE SACRIFICED AN EYE TO MIMIR IN EXCHANGE FOR A DRINK FROM HIS WELL.
THE WELL IS A MYTH, INTENDED TO CARRY THE MEANING OR ESSENCE OF AN IDEA RATHER THAN DESCRIBING ANYTHING TANGIBLE. YGGDRASIL AND THE WELL WEREN’T THOUGHT OF AS EXISTING AS A SINGLE PHYSICAL LOCATION, BUT RATHER THEY WERE PRESENT WITHIN THE INVISIBLE HEART OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
STILL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PASSIVE DRAWING, ‘WELLS OF MIMIR REVISITED’. FOR THIS WORK, THE DRAWING IS MADE OVER TIME AS THE CAST ICE VESSELS MELT, AND THEIR ABILITY TO CONTAIN INK BREAKS DOWN, RESULTING IN A RELEASE OF INK. AS THE VESSELS MELT CAPILLARY ACTION PULLS THE INK THROUGH FISSURES AND FAULTS IN THE ICE CREATING TEMPORARY AND UNPREDICTABLE DRAWINGS WITHIN EACH CUBE BEFORE THE INK IS ULTIMATELY RELEASED TO THE PAPER. ONCE RELEASED THE INK MINGLES WITH AND IS DILUTED BY THE WATER FROM THE DISSOLVING VESSELS BEFORE BEING CAPTURED AND HELD AS A STAIN IN THE FIBERS OF THE COTTON PAPER.
