Art Room: 2024

"The cosmos is within us ...we are made of star stuff ...we are a way of the universe to know it's self." 🌟 Carl Sagan. ( ref 1)

Watercolour , if 15
Rainforest

"Look up at the stars..(...) Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder what makes the universe exist. Be curious. " Stephen Hawkin. (ref 2)

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." Dakota wisdom.( ref a)

"I do not think the measure of a civilisation is how tall it's buildings of concrete are, but rather how well it's people have learnt to relate to their environment and fellow man. " Sun Bear, Chippewa (ref b)

Presently I'm exploring ideas around indigenous people's cosmologies. It is particularly striking how, through the cultivation of their sacred wisdom a deep relational connection toward and harmony within natural ecosystems exists. It's an holistic approach which inclines itself toward the preservation and a thriving for the ' whole web of life'... And therefore is a way which naturally -even consequently sets in motion a flourishing of bio - diversity within natural environments the Kogi people's inhabit...In someway it could be described as an ethos based on what has been termed by current day writers as an 'ecological civilization.' David Korten explores such ideas in his book 'Change the Story Change the Future.'

The success of such eco- societies is established through the passing on of generational cosmologies, ancient cultural stories and symbolic references depicted within the fabric of these communities - intuitive insights and eco-holistic understandings are part of the peoples heritage...

This way of being positively contributes towards ethical sustainability. The kogi approach draws on deep ancestral collective connections to the natural world and each other. Being in sync with and co- existing as part of ecosystems they inhabit. Such intrinsic values of co- exsistance and eco-dependency has resulted in an ongoing, harmonious balance established over hundreds ... in some cases thousands of years...their inheritance as a coherent whole. One could say in prescient times, they are at the forefront of being the dynamic eco-participaters and preserver's of life on our planet ....This little blue dot in the universe we call home.

And as Aldo Leopold has also stated, "we are part of a community"..a part of the whole 🌎

Working on sketches Kogi
yf, 24

" We do not see other species as separate."

Hindou Oumaru Ibraim. (Ref d)

"May the stars carry your sadness away, may the flowers fill your hearts with beauty, may hope forever wipe away your tears, and, above all, may silence make you strong. " Chief Dan George. Tsleil- Waututh. Nation (ref c)

"Mother Earth is a being...like us."Elder Mamo Kogi People.

acrylic mixed medium, experimental
ideas yf 24

These initial works are mainly evolving, exploratory ideas, inspired by systems expert and theorist Dr Ervin Laszlo - his recent writings "Reconnecting to Source and discussions online titled " The Great Upshift Of Humanity. " create a sense of future hope. The visual work is experimental and tentative focusing on how all things are interconnected...From the macro to the micro. The seen and unseen. The hidden aspects being intrinsically vital for the seen to not only survive but thrive...

As often mentioned here... "humankind we are but one thread all things hold together...all things connect." Chief Seattle. Duwamish Nation.

As many of us may experience in varying degrees an increasing sense of disconnect from the rest of nature - which we could consider is confounded often by the sense of unease experienced by isolating effects of urbanized living. Ways of living which have emerged over a few hundred years and majorly due to the onset of the industrial revolution in times where dominant discourses cultivated ideologies toward seeing the rest of nature to be conquered consumed for man's use alone. Beliefs which may well have set in motion consequences of disconnection, loss, unease and discontent.

"Civilization is a flimsy dust sheet thrown over our psychy rich in emotion and instinct shaped by the living planet." George Monbiot ( ref g)

I'm aware of French literature writer-Francis-Rene de Chateaubriand whom in the 1800s aptly stated... " Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them. " (ref3c

Eco-philosopher Arne Naess's own thoughts were based on the need to re-establish, our reconnect and to see nature as having intrinsic value for its own worth ...not human consumption alone.

In a time of ecological exploitation, resulting in - soil depletions, river contamination, air pollution, farm mono culturing, a realization these eco issues impact on biodiversity is hard hitting ...we may well yet look to the wisdom our Elder brothers...

These ideas, thoughts have no disregarding of the incredible inventiveness that exsists within humans ...but to creatively explore 'how' we can increasingly move toward a coherent whole. One only has to consider the likes of expert systems theorist Dr Ervin Laszlo to gain an understanding that we can work towards a more sustainable coherent whole -one that balances the sciences ,technologies further inventions for the sustainable good of the whole .

After watching a video based on the Kogi peoples way of life...below are images and quotes from some sketch book works, based on the Kogi people insights that have stood the test of time as communities living in harmony and connection natural habitats. They remain in tune with nature protecting their lands from pesticides and machinery... the mountain areas are seen as a sanctuary