Editions & Selected Works
When I work on music or paintings, I have always – beside the sheer need and enjoyment of being creative – felt drawn towards a conceptual, even philosophical approach, which connects and unites each work within a deeper, more essential context.
So, over the years, quite a few theme based cycles and groups of work have evolved, most of them still unfinished and very much in the making. One, for example, is called Temples Of Light. Pictures like Cradle Of Infinity, And Earth Below or Early Dawn are part of it.
The idea is, to describe the circle of the light/life-force throughout one day in ten images, each one capturing a different and unique aspect of it, while forming a whole. Since I didn’t want to be too rigid about the conceptual order of the pictures, you ‘ll find them scattered between other works.
CLOSE TO THE EDGE
Right in the very heart of creation we find the principle of polarity, based on the forces of positive and negative charge. All life vibrates between these two poles in order to exist, constantly striving for balance and harmony. In the East this concept is known as Yin and Yang.
When I started working on Close To The Edge, which I had vaguely outlined as an allegory of the beautiful and incredibly rich life on earth at the fragile brink to the empty and rather hostile surrounding space, I soon made a remarkable discovery: The picture – without me even noticing – had taken the shape of the ancient Yin and Yan-symbol.
It implies many interpretations: from the expansion and decay of life and it´s variety on earth – which seems to take place in waves, almost like breathing – to the rise and eventual fall of a human civilisation, having lost itself in technical arrogance and spiritual blindness, to name only two. We all feel that mankind has reached a point in time, where we´re seriously endangering the continuity of our own existence on this planet by destroying the essential resources, on which our survival is based on: clean water, clean air, clean food and maybe even most important, an attitude of mindfulness, Love and respect towards our fellow creatures and life´s dignity itself.
I believe, it´s not too late yet, but the sun is setting on this ignorant and proud way of life… May our insight finally awake and rise like the eagle in Close To The Edge – before we become just a soon forgotten episode in the history of this paradise, we call earth…
WHERE MY DREAM BEGINS
Sometimes at night when we´re just about to fall asleep, we find ourselves awakening to a new and different awareness, remote and yet strangely familiar. Our mind has left behind the thoughts, emotions and problems of the past day, and we´re setting out to take a journey into the unknown: vast, beautiful and full of mysterious magnetism. In our dreams everything is possible: we can fly – or travel any distance within the wink of an eye. We can communicate without words – or find a deeper understanding in one single moment, than in years of thought and reflection.
Here we realize, that just behind the horizon of our conscious minds lie new worlds of experience, full of incredible complexity and inspiration, just waiting to be discovered and explored.
AND EARTH BELOW
Just as the the sun ascends over the horizon, we´re still ‘between the worlds’ – there: the infinite vastness of the stary sky and and all encompassing space, full of inconceivable beauty and magnetic mistery, but also cold and dark. And here: the expected and familiar, yet still glorious and relieving return of the sun, the force behind all life on earth, that fills us with warmth, trust and hope: the birth of a new day…
DAWN
Dawn – the moment when light bursts through the veil of night and in a triumphale return claims dominion over space. Nothing is defined or distinguished yet, all forms still rest within the one all-creating force. But still – as soon as it is born, we feel its irresistible magnetism on us and everything alive – the longing for surrender and union – with life itself.
TRAVELLERS OF LIGHT
This one came about, when I was working on a picture showing the first powerful rays of the the spring sun finally breaking the icy claws of winter. – Suddenly I saw this Ufo zooming out of the light … As we all know, if you want to travel even minor cosmic distances, you have to use the secret i.e. yet undiscovered stargates of light to enter and travel in higher dimensions, otherwise even at the speed of light – it would take dozens, hundreds or thousands of years to even make a minor trip… well, here´s one of those travellers having just entered our cardbox, threedimensional world again… 🙂
The whole athmospheric and yet concrete composition has – thanks to the ufo – a rather playful and almost surreal quality. But it’s true: while I was working on it, the spaceship simply appeared in my mind – so I had to put it in there…
AFTER THE RAIN
Finally, the first powerful rays of a new dawn are bursting through the heavy clouds of a nightly rainstorm, its moist vapours still filling the solitary valley. A new day is born…
In this universe both water and light represent the essential preconditions of physical life. However, on our planet they symbolise much more – the cosmic spirit taking tangible shape, to enable creation to gradually evolve into self- and eventually cosmic awareness. And that’s beautiful, sometimes beyond belief.
The Temples of Light-cycle is more or less a meditation on the ongoing evolution of the human mind and spirit. Each temple represents a different aspect and stage of this journey.
After The Rain symbolises the beginning, the dawn of the human self. That’s why it is so closely connected to the beauty of this planet. The little temple – which represents the self – is located remote and high up in the mountains and yet, despite its solitude, it is embedded in and somewhat protected by an array of powerful natural forces, which secure it’s life and survival.
THE BLESSING
Sometimes in a dream or a vision we catch a glimpse into other, higher worlds – spheres of unimaginable beauty, bliss and fulfillment, where forces of indescribable depth, clarity and selfrealization might materialize as angels, granting us a moment of ecstatic insight into the boundless possibilities of ‘Being’…
SURRENDER
There are moments in nature, when the outer world and our inner perception become blurred or even seem to be blending. Our eyes and all our senses are no longer distinguishing, but rather unifying, and we find ourselves amidst a symphony of shapes and colours, filled with magnetic force. In moments like these, we experience ourselves as being part of an infintely rich and boundlessly resourceful creation and sense the One force turning the wheel of life…
STARDUST
An early winter morning – in the distance we see the shine of a new day dawning, but still everything is bathed in the magic light of the fullmoon. Like a shining carpet the drifting snowfields are reflecting the mystical light of the sky above – „stardust“.
In winter nature seems to take a rest. All her infinite ways of expression – the countless voices of singing birds, the limitless shapes and colours of plants and their blossoms, even the never ending circles of birth, growth and decay on land and in water – become limited and diminished, anxiously awaiting the return of the full force of the sun.
Now life is stripped down to its essentials and we realize, how fragile, vulnerable and minute we are, living on a speck of dust in the inconceivable vastness of endless space and time. And yet, something within ourselves responds to these myriads of shining lights out there, and we feel, we ourselves are made of stardust – maybe only waiting to be awakened from the ´dream of life´.
CIRCLES OF AWAKENING
This is a very mediative compositon, showing how the growing and evolving human spirit is emanating more and more powerful mental and spiritual waves (like a radar), its reflections, like an echo, forming an ever and ever growing consciousness. The human figure in the middle is actually Leonardo da Vinci´s ‘Vitruvian’, as the Renaissance was intensely dealing with the subject of the human consciousness defining human reality.
Then for the first time scientists established provable standards to view the world around us and its earthly and cosmic realities. Modern science was born.
How many ‘views of the world’ have been overthrown since those days? Each of them being only one of countless Circles Of Awakening…
OCEAN OF REBIRTH
Here, as often, I use the ship as a symbol for the human spirit, travelling on from one ‘harbour of incarnation’ to the next, driven by the various cosmic forces of destiny and karma.
On these countless travels we might encounter very tranquile and peaceful times and circumstances as well as periods of turbulence and ‘heavy weather’, symbolised by the everchanging conditions of the vast Ocean Of Rebirth.
THE REBIRTH OF LIGHT
For me the Light symbolizes the all creating life force manifest, taking shape as the breathing universe, ruled by the various laws of polarity. We as mankind stand speechless in the face of infinity, caught in our human mind, which is defined and limited by relativity.
Yet, we have an inborn urge for transcendence – there´s an irresistible magnetism in concepts like ‘eternity’ or ‘the absolute’ which are represented by the age-old symbol of the circle – the movement that returns into itself – birth is followed by death and – rebirth…
THE BLUE WIND OF HEALING
It´s only a very thin membrane, which separates the world of our dreams and imagination from the so-called real world. For me, these transitions are absolutely smooth anyway – after all, reality has many layers and facets. This picture symbolizes the healing powers of our dreams. Here landscapes are made of thoughts, the light can be a mood, a fragrance, a melody – or vice versa – while the Blue Wind Of Healing fills us gently and unrestricted with comfort and confidence.
Not so deep within ourselves this world, these places are close and familiar, because we share them. Everybody knows them intuitivly and eventually remembers, thus discovering a force, which is magic and mysterious and at the same time tangible and real.
Here’s a true little story accompanying this picture, which I ‘d like to share with you:
TALK IS CHEAP
Some time ago, I woke up remembering an extraordinary vivid dream. I had been in the rather unlikely and unexpected presence of three Native American Chiefs. Not an entirely comfortable experience, I have to add, since the three old and dignified gentlemen seemed to be a little uneasy and rather reluctant in my presence. Nevertheless they asked me, why I had come. Surprised as I was, the only question that crossed my mind, was: „What makes a good leader?“
They looked at each other meaningfully and after a short moment of silence, the first said: „Don’t rely on his words too much: Talk is cheap! Go by his deeds instead, his past conduct and the sincerity and humanity, it has revealed. Is he a man of truth and unquestionable integrity? Has he been honest, caring and loyal to the ones around him, men or women?“
The second said: „Is he a man of inner composure and control in the face of crisis, like a good father, who weights his words and steps before he takes action? Is he uniting his people, instead of dividing them? Does he create understanding instead of misunderstandings and inclusion instead of confrontation?“
And the third added: „Is he a man of humbleness towards his responsibility, who has outgrown childish pride and selfishness? Is he able to really listen to and take into account, what others have to contribute to the right course, even if it needs to be found yet, giving them trust in their fellow men and a common goal? Has he shown respect and awareness to our Mother Earth, who nurtures us lovingly and patiently, despite our ignorance and abuse?“
After that they fell silent and nothing more was said, so I thanked them. Then I woke up to the „real world“…
ARTWORK FOR ULI JON ROTH'S UNDER A DARK SKY
Here is a small selection of the pictures I composed for Uli´s 2009 album Under A Dark Sky.
He had a very distinct idea regarding the front cover, but with the other compositions he simply let me go ahead and chose what he liked best.
I added two versions which were not used, just to shed some light on the creation and selection process. When you look at the booklet, you will find some of my other pictures being used as well…
