‘Naga” (Snake) No.1 2021
Abracadabra drawing No.1 of 66 original drawings in this series.
This work has come a long way! It started out as a very large bright painting and then as a pair of 12x12" hand-engraved slates, made on a rooftop in Nepal. These then became a drawing for the abracadabra series, and now here it is as a print.
The original engravings are sold in the private collection of Lord Renfrew who, as an archaeologist, enjoyed the fossil look of the work and the contrast between the hard stone and the slippery snake.
Titled, dated and signed by artist with certificate of authenticity.
Image size Apx 6 inches / 15cms on A4 H29.7 x W21cm paper
This drawing is also available as a print. (see Print collection)
About the Abracadabra collection.
There are 66 of my different artworks to choose from so they're great for collecting, hanging them vertically or horizontally, experimenting with them by filling an entire wall or spreading the love through different spaces and having a choice for your different moods. And who knows if you have a BIG enough wall you could install your very own very large Abracadabra talisman.....over 12 feet high and wide, nearly 4 meters!
Please read on if you would like to know more about the making and the maker.
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I have always actively sought and embraced change, which manifests in the diversity of my work. Many different projects and interests have fuelled my creativity over the years.
This same need to move on, explore, discover and encounter has meant that travel has been a big part of my life for the last 20 years or so. I have set up makeshift studios in many different places and cultures, producing work directly from my environment and my headspace at the time. I am currently in Nepal setting up this new venture you see here.
My 66Circles and this Abracadabra collection are examples of these travel-inspired works. Every one of the original 66 Abracadabra drawings leads to a print 1 - 66. Most were completed whilst travelling in 2017 - 2019 and at home during the worst of the covid years, taking 5 years to complete in 2022.
All carry an influence on my surroundings and what was going on around me at that time, the colours, light, people, and places, along with my memories, moods and thoughts at that time.
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Why Abracadabra?
Each drawing (or print) is a small but intrinsic part of the whole symbol, a letter, a note in the incantation and a marker to create the Abracadabra symbol. Every print sent out into the world becomes part of a creative collective, a note in the symphony. It is a charged and potent talisman for protection.
I am drawn to this symbol for its seeming simplicity yet complicated and ancient meanings. ‘Abracadabra’ is a fascinating phrase that has lasted for 1000 years (maybe more) over much of the world and so has a long history, here are some theories:
* It’s from the Aramaic phrase avra kehdabra, meaning “I will create as I speak”.
* The source is three Hebrew words, ab (father), ben (son), and ruach acadosch (holy spirit).
* It originated with a Gnostic sect in Alexandria called the Basilidians and was probably based on Abrasax, the name of their supreme deity (Abraxas in Latin sources).
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And why circles?
Also, through these works, I continue with my circular and spherical motif and signifier as seen in much of my work. The circle is a universal symbol with extensive meaning. It represents the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, and all cyclic movement.
It implies an idea of movement but stillness too and symbolises the cycle of time, the perpetual motion of everything that moves, the planets' journey around the sun, and the great rhythm of the universe.
The circle is also zero in our (Arabic origin) numbering system and symbolises potential or the embryo. It has purported magical value as a protective agent. In Jung's psychology, it indicates the end of the process of individuation, of striving toward psychic wholeness and self-realisation.
Because of my harmony with these ideas, it makes creative sense for me to make each part of the Abracadabra talisman a circle, within a triangle, within a square.