Title
The Inconceivable
Knowledge of the
Formation and
Disintegration of
All Worlds
Medium
pencil, 22K gold powder, gum arabic,
white gold leaf, acrylic on vellum
Dimensions
17 3/8 x 22 3/8 in.
(44.1 x 56.8 cm)
framed:
25 ½ x 30 in.
(64.8 x 76.2 cm)
Year
2014
The grid (rendered in pencil) suffused throughout the work can be interpreted as a web or a net. In Buddhist philosophy, the web relates to the delusion, or arbitrary restrictions of consciousness, that pervades our existence. The geometric patterns of triangles and squares (painted in 22K gold) are visual representations devised by the artist to describe the subatomic structures that comprise all matter in the universe. Within the sutra, flowers symbolize “the mind or mental factors or states, particularly the development of wholesome qualities and the unfolding of knowledge.” In this instance, the flower can be seen as knowledge emerging directly from delusion and the physical limitations of this world.
At first glance the imagery appears to be unified with all the visual elements in alignment with each other. Closer inspection reveals deceptive inconsistencies in the grid and geometric patterning surrounding the floral form.
These disruptions stem from lines that emanate from the center of the flower, which create outwardly radiating sections. The gridded pencil lines and gold painted patterning correspond directly to each individual section. One can gain a better sense of this continual alignment and misalignment if we isolate a single section of the work and study the markings more closely.
