archetypes, mandalas
and consciousness

These themes are highly inter-related and not at all easy to verbalise succinctly.

I was very influenced by the writings of Carl Jung – particularly “Man and his Symbols” – and Joseph Campbell – particularly “Myths to Live By”. I  resonated with their suggestions that there are archetypal structures within our human psyches that give rise to equivalent creative acts and imagery in all cultures and periods. I felt a compulsion to give them form within our own contemporary media, specifically video.

Mandalas are a particular type of archetypal image, with the word coming from the Sanskrit for “circle”. Within traditional eastern philosophies, mandalas are circular images used for a form of meditation and they symbolise the unity of creation. They can refer both to a map of the cosmos, yet also be said to reflect “the deep-lying architecture of the psyche”. Similar imagery exists with the western esoteric or art traditions – ancient stone circles, the stained glass windows of gothic cathedrals, and echoes in works by the artists Leonardo, Michelangelo, Blake amongst many others. The creation and experiencing of mandalas assists in integrating and unifying consciousness – probably by allowing the two sides of the brain to re-balance equally and freely, rather than one side being predominant. They are said to invoke a movement from the centre of the image to the periphery, and a return, linking the individual to the universal, and back; and it felt obvious that to do this dynamically with a moving medium would add a considerable level of effectiveness to the more traditional static forms.

All my work can be said to explore and celebrate the nature of consciousness – a metaphysical investigation into the miracle of how we experience anything at all. And these themes should be read alongside those on time and processes