Artwork: Omega

Omega – without Omega there is no Alpha! Things do not stand on their own. Ground-up roof tile from Burgundy, France, is the pigment for the colouring. The red pigment was obtained after clay was fired into brick and roof tile. The brick and roof tile have – who knows how long – served a function in a wall or roof… Now recycled for a new purpose by crushing and pulverising them. – images of transition – In this process I gained a new skill, that of paint maker. A paint maker to give the world colour, to make it more beautiful.

The contrast between the omega and its surroundings was achieved by using aqua blue acrylic and thereby giving the board its weathered tone, but also transparency. I also worked with rust water, a fun alternative. In colour, though, it is too close to the brick red of roof tiles. I used that later to colour the branches.

Constellation: the Great Bear.
For the mathematician the starry sky is a source of inspiration. The paths of stars and planets are fixed. Everything has its place. To bring some order to the tangle of points of light, so that you can find your bearings when all reference points are moving, there is a fixed point in the sky. The Pole Star. Whoever focuses on it can come home again or find their way to their destination. This Pole Star is just a small star compared to other stars. You can easily overlook it. The constellation of the Great Bear helps you to find this important star. Extend the distance between the two right-hand stars of this constellation five times upwards in the same line to arrive at true north: the Pole Star. Without help you will not see it, but it is there…

Two stone tablets
A reference to the story of how God gave Moses His guidelines, or lines of teaching, so that His followers would not lose their way in the chaos that existed then and that has since come over the world in an even greater measure. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Ps. 119:105; Prov. 2, 3. The two slates served for decades as roofing for the monastery ‘Abdij Sion’ (Sion Abbey) at Diepenheim near Deventer, a Cistercian order. Many of the prayers spoken there begin with: “GOD, come to my aid; Lord, make haste to help me.” Focus your attention on this before you go further. For that reason alone these words belong with the presentation and explanation of this artwork. ‘Stand still for a moment and listen to the voice in the silence.’

More on the slate roof tiles: under these tiles people have prayed, sung and meditated. These things lead to concentration, contemplation and inspiration. In inspiration the senses are stimulated. What do I see, feel and hear..? Text suddenly acquires meaning. What is this really about? Am I hearing this correctly? One is gripped by something, receives hope and looks for ways to do something with it in one’s own situation.

The branch literally comes out of the frame, as a three-dimensional form protruding from the panel. The branch runs in a Y-shape, a reference to the crucified Christ. Hope grows like a tree, with its branches full of leaves and fruit reaching upwards and sideways, its roots deep in the ground. Hope keeps us alive and spurs us on to action. “I matter and my work has meaning.” It brings me to a place where I am happy. In Isaiah 11:1 there is a beautiful description of hope and its expression in the sprouting branch: a young shoot growing from an old stump.

Prophetic act:
Words of God, which are promises, blessings, commissions and words of comfort, are wound around the branches here. Texts from the Bible and inspired words of God are creative. God spoke and it came to be. Now they are words that bring life to whoever discovers them. They give ordinary people courage. They bring life, hope, comfort, healing and growth. “Your word refreshes my soul.” (Jer. 31:25)

Sleeping eyes
Another aspect of the texts on the branches is that they are like ‘sleeping eyes’ (dormant buds). Sleeping eyes are the beginning of new shoots. They are still beneath the bark, as thickenings on the trunk or branch, sometimes as recognisable little points. When pruning, which promotes healthy growth and yield, you will need to watch out for these emerging shoots. The growing power that is visible here offers a telling connection with the learning person, young and old.

Size: 102 x 66 cm.

Wiebe van Dingen, 2016.