Ask

Ask
16" x 16” Quartet
Acrylic on Canvas
 
This piece is a meditation on the concept of asking.
 
This one piece is made up of small four canvases which connect, like a quartet of spirituality and veneration.  This piece is four canvases, each 8" x 8", coming together to make a complete image. Like all the pieces of life that must come together for our own inner piece.
 
I have been pondering the concept of our shadow and light selves. This piece is designed to appear different in the light and in the dark. Depending on the time of day, the source of light, the angle of the light, various elements appear and disappear on the canvas. The reality is that all those elements always exist on the canvas, but only show up based on your perspective.
 
Layered in this piece, there are symbols of seven energetic chakras, mudras, and bodhi leaves. The mudras are symbolic of freedom, of willing to be grounded, of humility. The leaves in this piece are sacred fig leaves. The Buddha is said to have sat under these trees when he meditated and achieved enlightenment. So, across cultures, they are seen as symbols of spirituality, growth, and wisdom. Sometimes they are called bodhi trees, but I think of them as peepul in connection to my own origins.