Both
the ocean paintings and the hand paintings are about the idea of being held by
a greater field of energy, whether by another body or by a body of water.
I’m interested in depicting opposing forces;
the combination of vulnerability and invincibility of the babies, and the
precarious quality of the safety afforded by the containers set against the
vastness of the ocean. I am interested in the element of water, both as a
source of renewal and as a source of danger. I combine a shallow foreground
space with a very deep horizon The colors are descriptive of nature to some
degree, but there is an edge to them that signals a description of unseen
forces as well.
The open handed gesture in the paintings is the abhaya mudra. The gesture made with
one hand is meant to impart fearlessness and grant protection. Using both hands
in the abhaya mudra means “Calming the Ocean”. It is often depicted in Buddist art in sculptures of a bodhisattva and
it also appears in yoga teachings.
The bubbling well is the point in qi gong through which the earth’s energy mixes
with the body’s energy. This place on the foot has a rich history in Western religious art as well.
-Jessica Gandolf
