Exhibition Text

SERPENT SUTRA
Miami Art Basel
2019

Serpent Sutra draws inspiration from the universal phenomenon of the ancient snake goddesses depicted in devotional art across the world.

Serpents are some of the oldest mythological, religious, and artistic symbols, though their meaning across different cultures vary widely. In Abrahamic cultures the snake is viewed as a symbol of trickery and evil, while in many ancient and indigenous cultures it is also associated with creation, rebirth and transformation. We live in a world of dualities and these dichotomies will always coexist, this is what I seek to explore through the symbolism of the Serpent in this series.

Maya mythology describes serpents as being the vehicles by which celestial bodies, such as the sun and stars, cross the heavens. The shedding of their skin made them a symbol of rebirth and renewal.

The Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew the fertility of nature.

In Sanskrit, sutra means "thread," and traditional ancient literary sutras attempted to weave knowledge. In this way through yogic practice this knowledge is distilled into a physical manifestation as portrayed in this series channeling the energy of the serpent in ritual.

Ancient Minoan culture was governed by a snake cult and ruled by the high snake priestess. The snake was the protector of the house and continues to appear in Greek religion among the Greek Dionysiac cult; it also signified wisdom and was the symbol of fertility.

The flowers present in the work are daisies and chrysanthemums. In Norse mythology, the daisy is Freya’s sacred flower. Freya is the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, and as such the daisy came to symbolize childbirth, motherhood, and new beginnings. While in ancient and contemporary China chrysanthemums represent long life and healing.

Drawing on these ancient parallel traditions of the goddess and the serpent the photographs become a contemporary altar to our ancestral relationship between the goddess and the divine serpent.