'From Darkness to Light' -- Alistair Dickson (Silaketu)
'I feel that art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos.'
- Saul Bellow
The paintings here have been made with this room in mind. In making them and hanging them I have considered the physical layout of the room and the panels in which each piece hangs. I have also considered what this room represents and what it is used for, which is within a Buddhist context. The room is mostly dedicated to the practice and study of meditation and Buddhism. The centre has been described as a peaceful oasis in the city. While the paintings could be described as non - figurative ('paintings' rather than 'pictures'), they live in relation and association and represent the end of a process of work, reflection, thoughts, memories, feelings and are of course open to interpretation.
The title - 'From Darkness to light' comes from a description of the Buddhist path - 'that leads from darkness to light' featured in a short puja (poetic verses of devotion recited or chanted) composed by Sangharakshita the founder of the Buddhist Order associated with this centre. It is also how artists tend to work with opaque mediums such as oil or acrylic paint, the process of working from dark tones to light tones. In my experience, in both cases this entails from darkness to light and back again. When my practise of meditation and Buddhism tends to deepen especially on retreats, my awareness is increased - myself, others and objects become more open, less separate and more interconnected -- peaceful, alive and full of positive energy. This experience of travelling from darkness to clarity has been a general inspiration for these works. Individual themes are hinted at in the titles of the paintings. Each piece can be considered individually or as a series. I hope you are able to have time to relax and allow this room of paintings to 'speak' and come to life. Like most paintings they are probably best seen in the shifting tones of daylight.
List of Paintings (clockwise from right of bookcase)
1. 'Bardo' (1), (acrylic and oil on canvas) May 2011
2. 'Bardo' (2), (acrylic on canvas) July/August 2011
'Bardo' is a Tibetan word that means intermediate state. It traditionally refers to the stages between death and (re)birth but also the states of dream, sleep, waking life and meditation. In some ways we are always passing through an intermediate state.
3. 'Demon (Pinned)', (acrylic on canvas) June- Aug 2011
'If you have some shadow or darkness in the frame, then your mind can travel in there and dream.'
- David Lynch
4. 'Empty Frame' (acrylic and sand medium and on canvas) Feb- May 2011
I agree with the painter Agnes Martin that blue is a happy colour -- even deep blue.
In Buddhism blue is the colour of 'shunyata' -- a clear blue sky, emptiness, openness, interconnectedness 'no fixed- thingness' full of wonder and possibility.
5. 'Near Pune', (acrylic on canvas) May 2010
This is made of colours remembered from a pilgrimage in India, walls, stripe painted huts and a particular chai stop before getting on the bus. (Again)
6. 'Where the land is thin', (acrylic on canvas) July/ August 2011
'Thin place' is a Celtic poetic term given to a sacred place, usually in nature, where 'the separating veil between the material and the spiritual is thin.'
7. 'Earth Touching 2' (acrylic on canvas) Jan- May 2011
A reflection on the meeting of seemingly opposite dimensions:
Light/dark, movement/stillness, in time/ outside time.
