THE ALCHEMICAL ELEMENTS
2019
This series of black and white illustrations explore the intriguing symbology of middle ages alchemy through contemporary compositions. Each image depicts one basic element: Air, Fire, Earth, Water: 🜁 🜂 🜃 🜄 in a non-obvious way by using related motifs open to interpretation.
Air 🜁 , 9 doors, Mercury ☿, the Caduceus & Hera and Heracles creating the Milky Way
Earth 🜃, the White Swan, Salt 🜔 & Silver & The Daughter☽
Fire 🜂, Sulfur 🜍, the peacock and the pelican, & the Son ☼
Water 🜄, the Mandrake Root, the Universal Seed & the Homunculus: beginning & end.
Alchemical language is based on very specific symbology and metaphorical meanings, unknown for many but certainly very effective for those who can understand it. What is the intentionality of nine doors? What if those doors are led by the Mercury symbol ☿, which is usually linked to the mind? My work strives to encourage the audience to draw those subtle connections and come up with narratives for each piece on their own.
