forcefield an exhibition catalogue artworks by Mandy Conidaris
Artist’s statement
The theme of this print narrative lies in the changing cycles of nature, the flow and ebb of human relationships, the awareness that intimacy shifts and is not a fixed state. The artworks are intended to be viewed as a circular installation with the end merging again into the beginning, as a metaphor for the ongoing, repeating processes of growth/richness/demise experienced in many lifelong relationships.
The most significant seven stages became budding, the opening bloom then full bloom, the overblown rose followed by decay on the stem, the pruning process, and then composting or the feeding for new growth.
In popular culture, a rose symbolises romance. Yet this symbol holds an underlying tension due to the coexistence of the beautifully scented flower with the sharpness of its thorns. During the making of the forcefield prints, I established and tended for a small rose garden, photographing and sketching the various stages in the roses’ life cycles of growth, development and dying down.
At the time I had developed a fascination for the humanist divination philosophy of I Ching or Book of Changes as it is also known – readings that one may turn to in an attempt to identify a path forward. At the simplest level of explanation, one shakes and throws a set of 3 coins six times, taking note of the coins’ head and tail configurations for each throw. Throughout this process one must ponder one’s question. The I Ching contains 64 readings, and one must turn to the reading indicated by the coin configurations and read it within the context of one’s question.
Included in each artwork’s imagery are phrases from one of seven I Ching readings that I felt most related to the depicted rose’s state of being within the cycle of the rose garden: return/awaken; expand/harmony; exuberant/harvest; sacrifice/decrease; exhaustion/disheartened; stripping/cut away; and waiting/preparation. This is indicated in the work not only by the title, but also by a set of rubbings of the reading’s coin configuration.
These works symbolise the inevitability of change in the cycles of nature and relationship, the understanding that one stage will follow another regardless of our interference, and that we have no choice but to endure this realisation.
I Ching phrases for FU:24 Awakening souls return rituals call them buddingseednew hope go back meet your energy as it returns protect it nourish it
FU:24 Awakening ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for T’AI:11 Pervading hidden potential interpenetrating gifts of heaven and earth unite flowering your creative force ripples out: communicate in ever-widening circles
T’AI:11 Pervading ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for FENG:55 Fullness abundance/profusionhornofplentysmileoneachothergivewithbothhandsculmination when the sun reaches centre, it begins to set be not sad: be like the sun at midday
FENG:55 Fullness ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for SUN:41 Sacrifice reduce what is diminishexcessive muteletpassiongo sacrifice decrease with sincerity open yourself to the beauty of the earth a cycle is ending: decreasing is the beginning of increasing
SUN:41 Sacrifice ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for K’UN:47 Decay decay/putrefactionrundowndrydesiccatedworn-outexhausted your truths are melting like snow in the sun you are a tree that has reached out further than its roots can support
K’UN:47 Decay ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for PO:23 Stripping reduce to pruningessentials cut away dead wood stripping brings renewal an old cycle is stripped away in the outside world, while inside the new is preparing decisive action the good and the bad that the earth brings forth must be fostered and pruned equally
PO:23 Stripping ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
I Ching phrases for HSU:5 Patience carefultendingpreparation binding one’s time wait and welcome what comes in its own time make provision generative nourishment life consists of a string of moments – remember to attend to each moment
HSU:5 Patience ImageEditionScreenprint2005of7size40 x 40 cm
This body of artwork was my contribution to the group exhibition Forcefield with artists Sheila Flynn. Cheryl Gage, and Monique Rudman (now van Rooyen) Exhibited at Gordart Gallery, Johannesburg, 2007 Catalogue & copywriting by Mandy Conidaris
Acknowledgements
The following sources were used to research my topic and provide quotes in the artworks: Beuster, J. 1991. The Jungian Construct Synchronicity, with special reference to The I Ching. Blok,Pretoria.F.2000.
The I Ching: Landscapes of the Soul. Amsterdam: Blozo Products. Karcher, S. 2002. Symbols of Love. London: Little, Brown and Company.