Only one more week to see my new installation on show at the Raveningham Sculpture Trail 25 – Alchemy.
In a neglected corner of the garden are the ruins of the old greenhouse. Much pruning and trimming in the spring revealed rusty garden tools and a grape vine, now hung with tiny grapes – the perfect setting for the Alchemist’s Laboratory and the practice of Celestial Gardening.
Four iconic birds – swan, peacock, phoenix, and raven – are placed on a labyrinth (mirroring the large labyrinth in the next garden) and centred on the Philosopher’s Egg. The birds relate to the four seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn), compass directions (north, west, south and east), and the humours (phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and melancholic). They also represent the four elements, Water, Air, Fire, and Earth.
Swan – after Blake, Jerusalem – White, Winter, Phlegmatic, North, Water, Moon, Diana.
Peacock – Iridescent, Spring, Sanguine, West, Air
Phoenix – Red, Summer, Choleric, South, Fire, Sun, Apollo.
Raven – Black, Autumn, Melancholic, East, Earth.
Alchemical imagery, is deliberately mysterious and misleading, and often unconsciously funny.
The pieces are made of Jesmonite, the table wood. They are for sale separately or as one piece of work from the Sculpture Trail.
https://www.raveninghamsculpturetrail.com
