EVE AT NANTERNISThe Holy Tree
Acrylic on canvas 30" X 35"
This is one of a series of 'The Famous at Nanternis' paintings I did in 1992. The Biblical Eve is in our garden next to the holly tree, and that tree "that is pleasant to the sight, is also the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden". The painting is divided in half by the tree. On the right side, Eve stands in the world of the imagination, as a symbol for the myth of creation. On the left side is the physical world "Where a man may toil and see the labours of his work". The world of the imagination inhabits the same space as the physical world, but its' power to influence is determined by our awareness.
Small clues further unravel the mystery. The photograph in the grass is of C.G. Jung in his garden reading "The Secret of the Golden Flower" in 1928. An apple at the feet of Eve suggests only the presence of Adam, now banished into the real world and the consequences of his actions, creating a duality in the world. A playing card at the base of the tree represents the gamble in life. On a branch of the tree a hexagram from 'The I Ching' has been carved. It is hexagram 20 OBSERVE'. "You can be realistic about the state of the world and others, but beware of the distractions, delights, desires and delusions, of the world". This is further explained by the corresponding hexagram in the TAO I CHING "You are surrouned by a great source of information, but your attitude conditions and forms what you see. Your own thinking not only changes your perception, but how things actually turn-out".
To the left of the tree is the physical world. Garden shears symbolise Mans' practical need to control the world. Mans' labours and ingenuity to order and contain the material world never cease, and, like our imagination and mental life, is engaged in constant activity.We live through our thoughts and imagination, our desires and ambitions. Meanwhile the hidden and symbolic secrets of the world are revealed, but we cease to look at all the clues in the world around us, that are presented through our sensitivity, intuition and imagination.
