Lucie Blazevska: Alchemy Wonderland

alchemy wonderland lucie blazevska/exhibition

24th jan-3rd feb 2015

alchemy wonderland lucie blazevska Lucie Blazevska’s inspiration comes from the astro-world; her work comprises alchemy, religion and mystical and magical symbols. Lucie uses a combination of painting and digital collage to modernise these symbols and at the same time retain their original meaning. She believes the symbols are receptacles of the energies they represent. Should they be negative; she tries to reduce their power through recontextualising them.

Lucie trusts these alchemic symbols are here for a higher cultural or socially useful purpose as in the creation of art or inventions. From Shakespeare to Max Ernst and Matthew Barney; alchemy has been the subject of artwork and literature for centuries.

wilderness

astro mystic

Nothing from nothing comes

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray)

Spirit and soul leave the old body which now, as indicated by the rave, enters the stage of blackness (nigredo) and putrefaction.

Claudius Ptolemy lived in Rome around 100 AD. His model of the solar system and heavenly sphere was a refinement of previous models developed by Greek astronomers.

Alchemy preserves the triple key to the gates of eternal life. It is a mystery of manifestation in three worlds: the divine, the human, and the elemental.

“My spirit wants to be with the soul above. I am like a raven when two weeks have passed.�

The Ptolemaic model accounted for the apparent motions of the planets in a very direct way, by assuming that each planet moved on a small sphere or circle, called an epicycle, that moved on a larger sphere, called a deferent. The stars, it was assumed, moved on a celestial sphere around the outside of the planetary spheres.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

$170

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

mulieris castitas / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

on the strings / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray) In achemy the Astral body is regarded as the Philosopher’s Stone of the alchemist.

The serpent, a symbol of sin and judgement, was lifted up from the earth and put on a tree, which was a symbol of a curse. The serpent lifted up and cursed symbolized Jesus, who takes away sin from everyone who would look to Him in faith, just like the Israelites had to look to the upraised symbol in the wilderness. The turtle (tartaruga), a symbol of purity and chastity–mulieris castitas. Two opposite elements that completes each other’s meaning.

Mulieris famam, non formam, vulgatam esse oportere.

(A woman’s reputation, not her beauty, should be known to the world.)

The astral body connects to the medulla center by an umbilical cord-like structure that is referred to as the silver cord in esoteric literature. This cord is infinitely extensible, yet tethers or anchors the astral body to the body’s etheric matrix or chakra.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

Tree of Pansophia

Ra

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

Christian Cabala almost from the start developed into what we now call the Hermetic, or Alchemical Kabbalah.

The goals of Hermetic philosophy were to synthesize all of humanity’s previous learning, particularly the wisdom or sophia of the ancients, and present it in a single universal philosophy.

A symbol of illusion and shape-shifting, the flamingo was revered as the personification of Ra, the Egyptian sun god.

transmutation / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray) Transmutation is the first phase of the transformative journey. It marks the start of the process in which material forces are elevated through the power of the mind, in the goal of transmuting them into spiritual energies.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

The Eye of Providence

the Art of Transmutation of Energies

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

The eye of God watching over humankind, the triangle representing the Trinity.

Alchemy was defined as a sub-branch of natural philosophy. It was a science and an art aimed at the transformation of species.

Sometimes the triangle is used for magical purposes in casting of spells and the summoning of demons. Found near ritual sites. it's believed to be the door through which the demon will be called.

This is the ancient alchemic symbol for the right eye of the soul, by which it looks to the eternal. This symbol allows focus on higher, finer spiritual vibrations. It also ascertains the infinite nature of our soul, and our capability to tap into the infinite universe.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$120

Compared to other healing arts, alchemy has an extremely powerful effect; the energy is easy to integrate and there are no side effects. When done properly, alchemy doesn’t cause any purging period.

Alchemy is the art of liberating parts of the cosmos from temporal existence and achieving perfection which, for metals is gold, and for man, longevity, then immortality and, finally, redemption. Material perfection was sought through the action of a preparation (Philosopher’s Stone for metals; Elixir of Life for humans).

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$120

prima materia

eternal voice

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray) / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray) The egg is the chaotic prima materia which is destroyed in the Putrefaction, so that new life arises from it.

universum / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray) “He who will drink from my mouth will become like me.

I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him.�

Prima materia is the ubiquitous starting material required for the alchemical magnum opus. To the alchemists, there was a spirit hidden in the darkness of the prima materia, a divine spark buried in the darkness of matter.

The celestial spheres were the fundamental entities of the cosmological models. In these celestial models the motions of the fixed stars and the planets are accounted for by treating them as embedded in rotating spheres made of an aetherial, transparent fifth element (quintessence), like jewels set in orbs.

Quintessence - the fifth and highest essence after the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, thought to be the substance of the heavenly bodies and latent in all things.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

The swan is a bird which is rarely seen in flight, but rather swimming upon lake or river, gracefully moving on the surface of water - in soul terms, on the soul’s surface, its etheric interface with the physical.

The Toad was a better symbol of the Putrefaction, the decaying mass slowly pulsating and shifting as gasses were given off, while the substance rotted down to a black mass.

The cubical cross is a fitting emblem of the equilibrated and balanced forces of the Elements. It is composed of twenty-two squares externally, which refer to the twenty-two letters placed thereon. Twenty and two are the letters of the Eternal Voice in the vault of Heaven; in the depths of the Earth; in the abyss of the Waters, and in the all-presence of Fire.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 28x35cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$170

The Supreme One

caput mortuum

The outer and inner Mind

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

God is the “within” and the “without” of all things. The Supreme One manifests Himself through growth, which is an urge from within outward, a struggle for expression and manifestation.

The blackening, the nigredo experience, and it is often pictured as a death process, as in the caput mortuum, the death's head.

Notice here the eternal end without beginning, the eternal revolution and circle, in eternal love, willpower and centre, whose principle reveals itself since eternity began.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$120

$120

$120

purification

the infinite spark of being

Medusa’s Transformation

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

The Centrum of the eternal bottomless depth of light and darkness is in the infinite inexpressible width and depth everywhere. Therefore is said: The light inhabits the darkness and the darkness cannot grasp it.

The Raven is the beginning of the great work of soul alchemy.

This indicates the initial stages of the alchemist’s encounter with his inner space, through withdrawing from the outer world of the senses in meditation, and entering what is initially the dark inner world of the soul. Thus this stage is also described in alchemical texts as the blackening, the nigredo experience.

By all evidence, she is an ancient icon of the sacred feminine, connected with the original Great Goddess (Baring & Cashford, 1991). Marija Gimbutas, archeologist and scholar (1989), suggests that medusa’s frightening aspect may in fact have been indicative of the goddess’ association with death; with nature at the end of its cycle before rebirth occurs.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

Every effort goes with mistakes as fire goes with smoke.

Therefore one should not give up the work that corresponds with ones nature because it is full of defects.

Bhagavad-gita Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$120

$120

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink,spray)

$120

night attraction / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray) The moon is her mother, and she will follow her course at all cost. This makes her open to distraction, vulnerable to harm.

Going inside

As a creature of the night, and by her navigational devices, we see the moth is highly influenced by the power of the moon. This aspect ties in with animal symbolism of intuition, and psychic awareness.

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray) The alchemist mining the earth. Mining or going inside the earth is the first step in the alchemical process. The earth is the body or oneself. Going inside the earth is equal to going into your inner self.

Deep inside man, in the darkness of his psyche, are the causes or origins of man’s actions. Therefore the regressus ad uterum is a necessary condition to enter the moonlit area of death, and subsequently experience rebirth. Terra Mater, Mother Earth, has always been connected with birth, with the connection between man and woman, from which new life springs up after death.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 20x25cm/Print itself matted 20x25 cm Limited edition print 1/5

$120

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 42x59.4cm/Print itself 42x59.4cm Limited edition print 1/5

$200

i’m watching...

ophites

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray)

/ digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray)

"Through Him who created the Heavens and the Earth I am the Philosopher's Stone, and in my body I carry something the wise seek. If such a charm be extracted from me, it will be a sweet refreshment for you. I am an animal having father and mother, and father and mother were created; and in my body are contained the four elements, and I am before father and mother and I am a poisonous animal."

Reconstruction of the gnostic cosmology of the “Ophites”.

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 42x59.4cm/Print itself 42x59.4cm Limited edition print 1/5

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 42x59.4cm/Print itself 42x59.4cm Limited edition print 1/5

$200

The Ophite Diagrams are ritual and esoteric diagrams used by the Ophite Gnostic sect, who revered the serpent from the Garden of Eden as a symbol of wisdom.

The king / digital collage (drawing, acrylic, pencil, ink, spray) It is a dual role, as a symbol of wisdom and of evil.

However, as even the lowest serpent sheds its skin and renews itself, it is a token of resurrection. As a symbol of spiritual power, the serpent represents the awakened self.

$200

Hand embellished digital collage Frame 42x59.4cm/Print itself 42x59.4cm Limited edition print 1/5

$200

www.lucie-blazevska.cz thank you

Gallery hours: Depot Artspace|28 Clarence Street| Devonport|Auckland | 09 963 2331

www.depotartspace.co.nz

mon: 12 – 5pm Tue – Sat: 10am – 5pm Sun and public holidays: 11am – 3pm