“Gods Amongst Us”
The “Gods Amongst Us” Exhibition is a sequel to my “Divine Trinity” Collection. This is currently an ongoing exhibition that delves into the metaphysical and philosophical views of life and existence.
“Gods” are not new concepts in any sense of the word. All cultures throughout history have written literature and magnificent depictions of their respective Gods. This exhibition is a visual representation of the information I’ve gathered from various philosophies, religions, and personal insights. I believe all religions share a fundamental discipline of life which is to worship a higher purpose while spreading love and community amongst each other. Of course, over history we’ve seen how people have abused this power, but I think what we can learn from this is that we have as much power to create and make change in our life as the Gods we worship.
I want you to realize that we are reflections of the creator because we ARE the Creator of our own realities. We have to the power to determine whether we live in the symbolic versions of Heaven or Hell. We are a part of a larger purpose. We have to learn ourselves and support each other throughout our lives. We need each other because we ARE reflections of each other. We ARE the Gods Amongst Us.
The Eternal Bond: Where Life Begins
All COLOR comes from the eternal unity of Black and White. This constant dance of these two primordial elements of life creates children of color. These children are the “Sun Warriors” and “The Overseers.” The most important aspect of their relationship is their constant contact as they exchange energy. The embracement of light by the all-encompassing darkness brings visions of new beginnings, while the willingness of Light to embrace the universal darkness keeps the cycle of rebirth in play. They are integral to each other’s survival. We all have this Light and Dark within us. Light and Dark are also known as Order and Choas. We all have the responsibility to keep these important aspects of ourselves in balance as we see fit. Our journey in life starts from the Balance of the two.
The Sun Warriors
“The Sun Warriors” is a collection of pieces that personifies the children of Light and Darkness. These children all represent an integral aspect of upholding and maintaining light and love when the chaotic aspects of darkness strikes. They strive to maintain balance. Each brother corresponds to a color on the light spectrum and the heat of flames. With that being said, the brothers’ power ranges from “weakest” to "strongest” based on this. The Red Sun Warrior is the youngest and most untrained while the Blue Sun Warrior is the eldest and most trained.
Their unique power comes from their inherent chaotic nature but transforms into a weapon of light as they train and learn to control their inner darkness.
Blue Sun Warrior
The Blue Sun Warrior is the Eldest Brother. He seems to be the most powerful but is crippled by fear. His fear stems being in closest contact with his parents. Light and Dark are infinitely powerful and if they are out of balance, there fights are on a universal scale. Blue has witnessed this firsthand and due to this, he lives in caution, unable to look past the potential of destruction.
Green Sun Warrior
The Green Sun Warrior is the second child and is the most knowledgeable fighter out of his brothers. Trained in many martial arts fighting styles, he chooses to use weapons he created from the bones of his enemies. Engulfed in glory, the Green is in constant competition with his older brother, this causes him to not reach his full potential because he’s not fighting the battle within himself. He is crippled by the Shadow.
Yellow Sun Warrior
Next is the Yellow Sun Warrior. As the third child, he had much more interest in the ancient academic knowledge of the universe. He often travels alongside the Overseers in their quest for knowledge and understanding. Though he is extremely powerful due to his ability to create orbs of light that he can bend to his will, he refuses to fight in most conflict due to its historical destruction of ancient knowledge as collateral. The refusal to fight leaves him running from his true nature. He is crippled by indifference and often neglects his responsibility to fight.
Orange Sun Warrior
The next brother is the Orange Sun Warrior. He is hot headed and hardheaded. He chooses to use close combat weapons because he’s in love with the thrill of battle. This causes him to be selfish and impulsive. Though he is also very powerful, his constant selfishness often leaves everyone else doing more work. Because of the negligence felt from his parents, he is crippled from selfishness and the need to prove his worth.
Red Sun Warrior
The youngest brother is the Red Sun Warrior. He is naive but has the most potential. His spear is the weapon they all started with, but he wants to create his own path. Born into a tough family, he rarely finds solace in his two eldest brothers and his orange brother often neglects him due to his unskilled fighting. He often finds peace with is Yellow brother, but a part of him pities this brother because of his lack of confrontation. He doesn’t want to be like his brothers. He is battling with his purpose because his purpose seems to be beyond being a warrior. The constant inner battle and lack of placement amongst to the brotherhood leaves him especially vulnerable to the manipulation of chaos.
The Overseers
The Overseers are the result of light combined with humanity. Somewhere along the timeline of life, a reincarnation of Light had three children with an enlightened Earth women named Amunet. These children were born with the sights of the universe but plague with mortality. Their mother struggled to maintain their powerful visions and they often lashed out in ways they themselves could not understand. When they were 18, they travelled the earth for psychedelic plants in order to attempt to realign with their supposedly absent father. The origin of their father is the only knowledge that they’ve yet to find. Through continued development and medication of psychedelics, they’ve ascended past human forms and achieved immortality. Now they roam the universe in search of knowledge of all kinds to quinch their thirst to see and be seen.
Their ascended forms look like their earthly forms. These ascended forms also correspond with the area of study they’ve decided to pursue.
Imani
The eldest Sibling, Imani, decided to study to the relationships of the stars and the planets. She recognizes their integral bond and strives to learn all about them and their alignments. She travels with her rainbow snake as a guide. This snake came to her during a psychedelic trip, and it manifested into reality when she found enlightenment.
Khonsu
The next Overseer, Khonsu, choose to pursue the knowledge of the self. While ascending beyond his ego, he realized the power of the inner mind and imagination. He is in closest contact with the Sun Warriors but is often meditating and spending time in the realm of the collective conscience helping mortals.
Geb
The youngest sibling, Geb, chose to travel the terrestrial lands of planets. He is fascinated with the chemical and elemental bonds of environments and often spends his days finding ways to manipulate the elements to help others.
The third eye on these siblings keep them in constant contact with each other no matter where they are in the universe. Both Imani and Geb are content with their studies and helping others along their life, but Khonsu still strives to find the origins of his father.
The Overseers are a bridge between humankind and the primordial realm. They are the shamans we all need to guide us along our spiritual and terrestrial journeys.
New Life. New Beginnings.
As we continue throughout the journey of COLOR and life, the concepts of Light and Dark continue to develop and evolve. Constant reincarnations of the primordial energy show up in various Celestial and Planetary Bodies. Two bodies of energy that have always been appreciate by us were of the sun and the Earth. Both entities give us life and it’s our responsibility to appreciate them. Just as Light and Dark have a delicate and constant relationship, so do the Sun and the Earth. We are the powerful hybrid of the two. We bring life and potential to the universe. We have to recognize the power we’ve been delt and use it to uplift each other and live alongside Earth, not against her.
The Human Experience
Light and Dark continuously reincarnates in many forms and these forms don’t exclude us as human beings. Just as we have atoms from the Sun and elements of the earth, we also have the divinity of the light and darkness from our very birth. In order for us to form a true relationship with others, we must first form a relationship with ourselves. This collection is a representation of my relationship with myself, both internally and externally.
Human Experience: Anima
The earliest Piece of this collection is called “Anima.” The term Anima was coined by the Psychologist Carl Jung, and he defined the Anima as the unconscious aspects of femininity that dwells within men. Women have a counterpart to this called the Animus (the unconscious aspects of masculinity within Women). Masculinity and Femininity can often be depicted as two extreme opposites, but they are really two different sides of the same coin. We all have both within us. My piece Anima shows the feminine unconscious, preparing to go into the unknow territory of masculinity (the external world). Her red color is a symbol of her vulnerability. She a piece of nature that is choosing to travel into the abyss of rebirth. Her Sun like hair will always provide a light to guide and remind her that light is on the other side. I can relate to her. This life is chaotic, and I often feel at peace while in nature. At times I’d rather be out there alone than here with anybody. I more so strive for a simple life but delving into the masculine is delving into the responsibilities of power, protection, and progression. So just like the Anima that’s about cross the line of rebirth, I also strive to dive into the abyss.
Human Experience: SOLO MAN
The next piece is called “SOLO MAN.” It shows a depiction of myself held back by my two biggest weights I’ve had all my life: my pride and my ego. These aspects of myself have not only been my greatest battles but also some of my greatest assets in getting me to where I’m at today. My constant willingness to set high expectations for myself and fail in the comfort of my space, always held my pride intact. The praise I have gotten from my work also served to motivate me to keep pursuing art, but it also inflated my ego to a certain degree. At times I felt like I deserved this because I worked for it. Though that doesn’t sound like a bad mindset, I would develop a mindset on what I thought I should get from the universe while ignoring what I had in front of me. This Pride of achievements and willingness to chase a partially Ego driven want to be great costed time with the people I love: My friends and Family. I’m Still trying to find that balance and I hope we all can find that balance. I don’t know what giving up my pride and ego will do but I’m willing to sacrifice that for the potential of deeper love amongst my family and friends. The Red is Ego, and the Green is Pride. The Ego is all in my head while the Pride is more so driven by my want to help people at a cost of myself. Both offer me amazing and attainable power, but I believe there is more beyond power and conquering. There is something I’ve disregarded, and I strive to find it. I believe it’ll take me beyond myself, but I know that I’ll have to give up the weights of pride and ego.
Human Experience: Rebirth
My final piece of this collection is called “The TRUE Self Portrait: Rebirth.” This piece is a representation of all the events this year. All the growth, falling, learning and stumbling has led me up to this point. I’m recognizing the importance of change and the necessity of its consistency. There are three animals depicted here: the King Cobra, the Black Mamba, and the Phoenix. The King Cobra and Black Mamba symbolize Order and Choas. They are both wrapped around me as I’m voluntarily bit by the snake of chaos. Choas and Order don’t have Good or Bad connotations here, there are both necessary for growth. Chaos represents change. My willingness to suffer the chaos of change fuels my artistic endeavors and allows me to appreciate rebirth. It also gives my masculine energy a constant sense of adapting and progression. The bun of my hair symbolizes the transition into the unconscious where my ideals flourish without constraint. The venom of the snake is gold because it brings great value, that value is change. Gold leaks from the snake, my tears and my preauricular pit. This preauricular pit is a small hole above my right ear that has always intrigued me. Though there is not much research beyond the medical aspect of what it is, it reminds me to listen more and listen clearly. My eyes have the same blue as the Phoenix above me. This shows that I see my rebirth happening in real time, I have hope. My tears of suffering turn into gold because suffering creates change. This piece is about Rebirth as I’m coming into my 21st year. It reminds me to not be afraid of change and embrace my obstacles instead of running from them. We all are living the human experience and I believe we need each other to strive and thrive for greatness. I hope this reflection reminds you to reflect and appreciate where you are in life because we need the chaos alongside order to thrive.
