Since early 2020, my art object ‘CONTINUITAS’ *  has taken on a new meaning: the idea of flowers in remembrance of those who are no longer with us; the flower bed as a symbol of the eternal rebirth of nature amid the pandemic as Covid-19 went global.

All happened in a spontaneous way. There were no ideas, no plans, let alone a script. I carried on with my sacred duty at the flower bed, observing what was happening there.

It was an exceptional year all round: weather anomalies and rare natural phenomena; seeds that did not grow; events that intertwined in the most bizarre ways… I wrote my diary, recorded my feelings and thoughts, came by chance upon certain emotions, images and ideas. Providence or the Great Force of Nature guided me literally along this path.

I came to my senses in late summer, and I realized that I was engaged in my Magnum Opus (an alchemical term meaning “great deed”) – what Carl Jung would have called the harmonization of the conscious and unconscious. I started to sort it all out and decided that I should put together all my material and present it to the world. A year later, I ended up with this document.

A salvation for humanity, alack, has not been found, but the Artist’s Book has been created. It renders my feelings, ideas, hopes and aspirations.

My great work doesn’t end there – I am still living a wonderful adventure, perhaps the most powerful experience I have ever had in my life…

 

* CONTINUITAS (Memoria Flores / The Flower Bed)

In the spring of 2018, after the sudden death of a patron of the arts and family friend, I took a spade and dug several square meters of wild land by hand to physically exhaust and distract myself. Then I turned the land I had dug into a flower bed. I did all the work – digging, planting, watering, taking care of the plants – by hand throughout the summer. It was a way to pray for George and for all of us who remained.

Since that time, on April 30th each year I sow flower seeds. During the growing season, I take care of the flower bed, photograph all events that take place around it, and paint the flowers. On October 5, I collect seeds and prepare the flower bed for the winter.