top of page

Murex Heads

 

 

 

Examples of Ecstasy in Nature

I had always thought various forms in nature depicted in their beauty the emotion of ecstasy. Among them I would include the petals of the bearded iris, various murex shells, radiolaria, breaking waves and even the vortex swirls in the clouds of Jupiter*.I feel the Murex not only offers the ecstatic finger-like extensions reaching out, but pairing the form with the cranium would allow for the individual to expand the cavity normally confining the brain and allowing for an infinitly larger number of neural connections and thought capacity.

I find these shells and their rhinoceric elongations to be a perfect evolution of the Nuclear Mystical . The amount of H2O and the space between atoms are better understood by fluid dynamics than the hard surfaces of Dali's rhinoceric horns and molecular crystals. In a microscopic realm, each move we all make takes on the fluid and miraculous properties of a prima ballerina. Think micro to imagine the interface of the ink in water chaotic beauty that is happening at massive scales within and throughout you.Here in my Murex craniums, I see the evolutionary step Dali began to contemplate

 

Bearded Iris                                                  Murex Shell                                                    Radiolarian                                              Breaking Wave

LookingEcstaticFutureSm.jpg

Ecstacy Romanesque   

 Oil on Canvas, 20"x20", Nov 2020

RomanesqueEcstacySm.jpg

Looking Towards Future Ecstacy  

Oil on Canvas, 20"x20" Oct/2020

Here the crowning glory or ecstasy has been depicted as an evolutionary cranial formation which both enlarges the capacity of the cranium and adds the furls of the murex to outwardly show the ecstasy of the individual it adorns. With the state of the world as it is with climate change, politics, and a pandemic, the present has been difficult for most, and deadly for many. Here my subject has the intellectual capacity to still look beyond our current dilemmas and dwell in the possible ecstasy of the future. 

The Murex shell here has been treated with special adornment influenced by the local Chihuly Museum and the Imagine Museum which also houses some beautiful Chihuly pieces. I have always admired the brilliant contrasting edges Chihuly adds to may of his works, and bowls in particular, that is reflected here in the edges of the shells extensions.

Ecstacy Romanesque simply refers to the statuesque quality the fractal texture used to envision this version of my Murex head lent to the overall look of the painting. Here the bust is seemingly transformed into an alien marble while gazing out and over the clouds. The combination of profile and murex shell also somehow reminds one of the god Mercury, which is appropriate. 

bottom of page