Mercurial Devotion
And so we come to the last few days of my exhibit, Celestial Data for Daydreaming at Silverlens Galleries and I close the circle with Mercury. I started the show with the image of my painting, Mercury/Hermes: Wilful Devotion for the exhibit invite. What better way to announce the show’s opening than with the image of the messenger to the gods.
We learn from Astronomy that Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet and so Astrology ascribes to it the qualities of speed and efficiency. It governs the realm of communication, trade, technology, systems of order and the synchrony of many moving parts. It is no surprise that people freak out over Mercury retrogrades— when Mercurial force slows down and disrupts order. Interestingly, it also rules health. Also known as Hermes to the Greeks, the god bears the caduceus, two snakes coiled around a rod— the symbol for Medicine. If you think about it, the state of health is also a system of order that involves the harmony of many many moving parts.
I admit that when I started my Mercury painting, I felt a kind of restlessness. Usually I can only paint when I am in a state of calm and happiness, which is why a large part of my work is focused on my inner development. I knew I had to find that state of inner harmony in order to finish the painting. I painted Mercury around the time of Lent. And although I was raised in the Catholic faith, I am not very religious. This year, I decided that I needed to observe Lent.
I read a book by Emil Boch called, The Three Years, which focused on the last three years of the life of Christ. As I did with the Ancient myths, I reread the story of Christ as a story of Cosmic forces. I read about how Judas and Mary Magdalene both suffered from Mercurial restlessness. Judas was not able to overcome or transcend his suffering and his story ended in suicide. While Magdalene turned her restlessness into devotion and through this, she was able to refine her soul. So my eyes were opened. A path was shown to me. I decided to transform my energy, my inner restlessness to devotion. I chose my daughter, Mecca as the centre of my devotion. Just like that I knew that the last silhouette, the final figure of my Mercury painting would be the Annunciation.
Mercury, in the Greek myths was the son of Zeus who could pass through all the realms: the realm of the gods, the underworld and our world. For this reason, he was the link to all these worlds and could deliver the gods’ messages. It is also fascinating that in Esoteric Christianity, Mercury is said to be the realm of the Archangels—- who are also tasked to deliver God’s messages. I took this as a starting point and immersed myself in the inspiration of the Annunciation paintings of the Renaissance period. I swam in the beauty of the Annunciation paintings by Fra Angelico, Bellini, Leonardo, Botticelli and my personal favourite, Luca Signorelli. All sublime images of devotion to God.
I sat in the silence in between the tones and noise and I found harmony. I softened the data by submerging it in sacredness. I was able to find my own healing through devotion. I hope that when you see my Mercury/Hermes: Wilful Devotion, you see the path too.
Mercury/ Hermes: Wilful Devotion 2021 Acrylic on Canvas 60”X48”