Mata Hari: The Self by Daphne Ang
Description
Original Painting, ‘Mata Hari: The Self’, ...I am full, filled, and fulfilled...
Mata Hari, Pagi Bintang,
With you I shine, an incandescent light
You have the best and the rest of me
We will be the brightest stars in the sky
A fire ignites in me
I am full, filled, and fulfilled
Deep and precious are the experiences
We share – the mundane and the sublime
Another dimension with you
Another dimension in you
‘Mata Hari’
Acrylic on canvas board
30 x 20inches (76cm x 50.8cm)
In ‘Mata Hari: The Self’, the picture has turned into night. The white-hot streak of pure light that penetrates through the centre of the image stands in stark contrast with the absolute blackness of the background. ‘Mata Hari’ is a painting based on a poem by the artist whereby she describes the experience of the lifting of the “self” from the darkness of the unconscious into the light of consciousness through a connection with another.
“My work is heavily inspired by the writings of Carl Jung and his work into understanding the human psyche and the deep unconscious. My paintings depict and articulate the ‘abstract unconscious’ through the use of active imagination, a method of meditation used in analytical psychology which refers to the process and method of introspection which opens up the psyche and its inner world of images, allowing the intangible unconscious contents to be expressed in tangible forms and creative works.”
The brilliant white light (‘Mata Hari’) can be seen as a visual manifestation of the light of the Self, and it is shown emerging like quicksilver from the darkness of the unconscious and becoming visible to the conscious mind. The rays of golden light emanating from the top left bind the numinous scene together in aesthetics and in meaning. Distilled through the process of abstraction (whereby line and colour textural relationships become the sole means of expression), it is in the abstraction of forms and purity of colour that pure emotion and meaning finds form.
Work detail.
Done on Winsor & Newton Canvas Boards which are sturdy, high-quality cotton canvas laminated onto a stable board and stretched by hand, then prepared with acid-free sizing and two coats of pigmented primer. The surface is finished with Golden Archival Aerosol Varnish MSA with UVLS that resists changes in appearance, remains flexible and is removable for conservation purposes. Painted with professional grade materials and mediums from the Liquitex and Golden Acrylics Professional range.
