|
|
UNIO MYSTICA - Exterior (1973)
|
OPENING THE DOOR TO
THE UNIO MYSTICA
|
The triptych Unio Mystica (of which only the central panel is reproduced on the right) was painted in 1973, just before Johfra embarked on the Zodiac Series. In it, symbols from a number of sacred and esoteric traditions are combined to render a singular image of mystical Unity.
This impetus to combine symbols from different traditions resurfaces in the works of many visionary artists - Ernst Fuchs for example, Alex Grey, even Ellen Lórien (as a painter, I must confess that I too am fascinated by this possibility). But what lies behind this impetus? Johfra writes:
"The sphere of influence of symbols broadens and deepens into the Infinite when symbols enter
|
|
|
|
|
UNIO MYSTICA - Interior (1973)
|
into combination with one another. Taken together, they define and clarify each other. In brief: a symbol, for those who can meditate upon it and lose themselves in it, is like a door offering entrance into new spaces and dimensions of consciousness." (Astrology p. 2)
The art of each sacred tradition has, as its goal, the aspiration of opening a doorway in the beholder, to reveal to him the Sacred that lies, ultimately, within his own heart. These images and their traditions are so many different paths, each leading us to the same destination. This insight allows us to juxtapose and combine symbols from various sacred traditions. Each is unique, revealing to us a different aspect of the Sacred. But all refer to the same transcendent mystery. The invisible Mysterium underlying all images of the Sacred is evoked in this painting as the ‘Unio Mystica’.
|
|
|
|