Black Sun Series

Artist’s Statement:

This series has been inspired by three different elements. First is the Romantic notion of melancholy as a constituent part of creativity. Melancholy brings the suffering of the world and personal suffering together to provide a language of yearning, striving, struggle against acquiescence. 

Secondly, is the tradition of alchemy. The stages of transformation include the “nigredo”, which calls forth the darkness of earth. One has to deliberately and consciously immerse oneself in the darkness of the soil. The idea is that only by embracing the energies of one’s own underground or underworld can one rise high enough to reach transcendence. Carl Jung wrote extensively about the energies contained in the process called nigredo. For the artist it means being unafraid of the night, of dreams, of working with harsh materials. 

Finally, the black sun series calls forth hopefulness that is often associated with the sun. The sun always rises. In my series, even the apparent sight of a black sun is associated with hopeful and spiritual imagery.