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I
have always been interested in the difference between
western and eastern attitudes to religious art in the
medieval period. The idea of an icon is in some ways
foreign to Western thought - but it has an evocative
quality.
It also speaks
to the relationship that the viewer has with the
object - an anthropological concept that has been the
subject of much of my recent research.
"His
Agony"
From a Russian Icon of the 12th century
Scathach
Part of the impetus for this series was the hope that I
could use this highly stylized form to depict some of the
Celtic deities. The Victorianized representations that are
now popular do not strike me as having an aesthetic
sensibility that the actual Celts would have appreciated,
being too romanticised.
.
"An icon is a threshold
at which the artist prayerfully leaves some
inkling of the glory which he has seen behind
that threshold ... "
IVAN ILLICH
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