Catch up on last weeks Rock Art Series Painting no. 6 reveal HERE.
Now you’ve seen the painting, how did I get to the title and what led me to paint the very odd scene depicting pond-scum, moon goddesses, a phoenix and a serpent — just to name a few?!
Battling the Chaos
Chaoskampf is German for the struggle against chaos — demiurge means ‘god’.
What in the blazes is this painting about?
Come stumble down the rabbit-hole with me on this, the most outlandish rock art adventure yet!
The Emotions Whilst Painting
‘Chaoskampf Demiurge’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen — Rock Art Painting no. 6 (Templeton)
Now, if you’ve just joined this Rock Art journey, let me fill you in on it a bit: I paint to the music of the selected artist (in this case, Templeton) and paint whatever comes to me in the process (a kind of meditative, ‘mindless’ painting).
I jotted down, on the side of the canvas stretcher, the emotions being stirred whilst I put paint and various bits of other matter to canvas. It went something like this:
- Strength
- Powerful
- Humble
- Life by Design
- Life by Desire
- Fire/Flame/Phoenix
- Sea of Emotion
- Passion
- Passivity
A lot of these emotions seem dichotomous. Thing is, I think this painting is essentially about dichotomy and the duality of life — especially the ‘light’ and the ‘dark’. This seems to represent the power struggle of two opposing sides.
Breaking it Down and Dipping into Legend
So, we have a bevy of beautiful, wistful goddesses bathing in moonlight on the upper left hand side of the painting — a very poignant display of femininity.
We have a pond (no, it’s not a ‘cosmic’ scene as such — I checked in with spirit right at the end and was told this upper part of the painting is water. I therefore did a blue glass paint wash over it, so in the flesh, it looks more fluid) — the water is imbued with binary code (like in the Matrix), infinity symbols (8) and what looks like giant eyeballs.
The ‘eyeballs’ feel to me like clusters of cells — the start of life — especially as the serpent of chaos seems to be electrifying it into existence. Alternatively, the serpent could be giving ‘shock treatment’ to the organism, inducing a perpetual state of amnesia to its true state of divinity. Hmmm…
Speaking of the little green dude — the serpent, I am quite convinced is our very own Apophis (read more about Apophis — Serpent of Chaos — HERE). He could also be a quantum representation of our dear (sarcasm) Brotherhood of the Serpent (BOTS) — the theorized oppressors of our very existence on this planet.
In the bottom right-hand corner we have half of what looks like a vortex/void with balls of light/essence of life-forms/spirit being shot out of its center.
Finally, we have a great ruddy phoenix in the middle! What a surprise that was for me…this painting looks like a lethal cocktail! Feathers everywhere!
The Rise of the Phoenix
The Phoenix is a mythological creature that lives a long time and is reborn from its own ashes in a cyclical death and rebirth loop.
It is considered ‘the Royal bird’ and is also associated with the sun (in Egypt the bird god, Bennu is linked with being a phoenix). You can read more about the phoenix HERE.
Could the position of this bird in the painting be humankinds hope? The ability of the pure gold nature of the human spirit rising up to reclaim its sovereignty and put order to chaos?
A Jewish Extraction
I found this excerpt from a site called monstropedia.org — rather interestingly, it states:
“In Jewish legend, the phoenix’s name is Milcham. According to tradition, after Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she became jealous of the immortality and purity of the other creatures in the garden. Eventually, she persuaded all the animals except the phoenix to share in her fallen state by eating from the forbidden tree. God rewarded the phoenix by setting him up in a walled city where he could live in great peace for 1000 years. At the end of every 1000-year period, the bird is consumed by fire and reborn from an egg found in its ashes. One variation of this Jewish legend states that at the end of each 1000-year period, the phoenix’s body becomes small and featherless like a baby’s and then he grows up all over again. In any case, the Angel of Death may never touch him.”
The Meaning and Beginning…
So, I think this picture is about our rise against chaos.
The human spirit must be victorious over our ‘invisible’ oppressors and all the illusions they have woven into the fabric of our matrix.
We are standing on the precipice — we must start to own our lives, take responsibility, realize our own divinity and power and take flight. *Squawk!*
Stick it to the man, people! We control our destinies and we are sovereign over our existence. We create our lives, hell, we created the multiverses!!! Get with the program and claim your divine rights! Pull yourself out of the ashes and rise — make your stand.
Honouring the Legend
I give much thanks to the awesome musical and cosmic talents of Templeton — without which I would not have been able to probe into the depths of these mysterious legends.
I have often spoken to him about where he gets his musical inspiration from and he tells me that most of it is channeled. He explained ‘it’s like getting downloads from the universe in the packages and forms of songs — melodies and lyrics’.
To sample more tasty tunes and get up to speed on information of this delicious man, please visit www.templetonuniverse.com.
You can hear his songs at Soundcloud by following this link: LISTEN HERE FOR FREE
Or you can view and listen to this talent by watching the YouTube videos below:
Listen to the whole ‘Headspace’ album here:
Templeton’s Amazon album downloads below:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE ROCK ART PAINTINGS SO FAR AND/OR TO BUY PRINTS
Here are the Rock Art blogs in order of release:
10 Bands, 10 Paintings…Let the Rock Art Begin!
The Grand Band Reveal is Today!
Radiohead — A Teaser Pictorial ‘Rock Art’ Peek
What Radiohead Looks Like Through The End of My Brush
Song Playlist — Radiohead Albums That Made The Art
Rock Art Series — The Beatles
What The Beatles Look Like From the End of my Paintbrush
Rock Art Series Painting no. 3 — Jeff Buckley ‘Raw’
How I Got ‘Raw’ With Jeff Buckley
‘Dancing in the Void’ — Pink Floyd Rock Art Painting No.4 Photographs
Painting Pink Floyd — Soldiering Through the Minefield of Emotion
‘Dangerous Love’ — Skunk Anansie Rock Art Painting No. 5
Cherie Roe Dirksen 