All posts tagged as Glass

24Nov

The world game

L’oeuvre au noir, 2021

When I discovered the existence of alchemy, I was immediately fascinated by the subject.

I started studying it right away.

And the more I studied it as one of the branches of natural philosophy, the more I became convinced that it was one of the oldest games ever invented: the world game.

Everyone can participate following precise basic rules, but to win, as in the chess game, you have to create your own original strategy.

In short, you have to unleash the artist within you.

Because of its importance, all the most ancient human societies and cultures have practised alchemy since the dawn of time.

Alchemy is an art that has survived intact to this day.

A DARK HEART TURNING IN FLAMING RED

There are four phases in the alchemical game:

  • Nigredo or melanosis
  • Albedo or leucosis
  • Citrinitas or xanthosis
  • Rubedo or iosis

To win the final prize, the ‘ Philosopher’s Stone ‘, we must master some esoteric languages ​​(such as that of symbols), practice some specific actions and overcome all four phases.

I am convinced that to keep alchemical art (whose key word is ‘transmutation’) safe from any abuse, alchemists have wisely created a material ‘backdrop’ capable of concealing the secret scenario, the spiritual one.

Therefore they created a double scientific scenario: the material deals with the study and transmutation of the elements of matter; the spiritual one leads the individual through a continuous change of his awareness towards the most authentic knowledge of his own being.

The alembic is for the most materialistic individuals, and the human heart, which turns from black to red, is, for the spiritual alchemists, the gold of one’s divine nature.

MEDITATE AND STUDY

Unsurprisingly, the most authoritative scholars (and practitioners) of alchemical art were the highest religious and political power representatives.
Not by chance, many of them were also eminent scientists.

Many alchemists were artists.

Many different paths can be chosen to conquer the philosopher’s stone, but some seem to be the most direct.

The safest ways to achieve success are those roads where discipline, introspective isolation, and creativity must be practised daily.

NO WORDS TO COMMUNICATE THE INEFFABLE

If you still do not feel irresistibly attracted to alchemy as it happened to me, I recommend you to take a look at one of the most famous and strange books dedicated to “Opus Magnus”: the “Mutus Liber”.

The main feature of this book, whose author remains hidden behind a pseudonym, is that of being composed of 15 illustrated plates, of which only the 1st, 13th and 14th are accompanied by short, enigmatic texts.

If you are fascinated, it means that you are ready to start the search for the “stone”, and your journey will begin under the best auspices.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Alchemy is the world game or the art of life.

The oldest alchemical symbol is the ouroboros, the snake that biting its tail generates the world.
The primordial serpent represents wisdom and knowledge that produces a circular, perfect and perennial movement, feeding on itself.

None can escape from himself.


If you want to have information on the dimensions, print supports, editions and prices of this image click on the button below.

29Sep

Glass walls

Glass walls, 2016

I am in love with everything that is glass made. Artistically speaking, glass is one of my great passions, an obsession of mine.

In city development (especially in the last 40 years), architects worldwide have favoured glass as a building material for its transparency, which is synonymous with brightness.

The massive use of glass in buildings (public and private) is justified everywhere by the increased number of facilities and their growing proximity.
Little space between buildings means less light in each apartment.

Glass is functional to increase the pleasantness and livability of homes. In the northern countries, this has always been the primary construction practice.

But in the extensive use of glass in new apartments and offices worldwide, there is a precise psychological indication: daily life is increasingly exposed, an invitation to exhibitionism and voyeurism.

The intimate life becomes like a fiction movie to see on TV, a perfect product for mass consumption.

YOU CAN LOOK BUT NOT TOUCH

This whole thing is like a push towards everyday life virtualization and spectacularity.

The glass allows you to see but also to isolate.
A window (which can always be opened if desired) becomes like the glass of a TV or Personal Computer monitor.

But a wall, even if made of glass, always remains a wall.

ALL THE WORLD IS A SHOWCASE

The phenomenon of globalization is the main responsible for the existence commodification of each of us.

Look around you.
Many young people think that being an ‘influencer’ is a profession.
For many of them, it represents a career to invest in.

This phenomenon represents, for me, the saddest thing in the world: the overwhelming power of emptiness is winning in their hearts.

LIKE IN AN AQUARIUM

I have bizarre dreams in my life’s most challenging and stressful times.
The scenarios have changed over the years, but an ever-present element remains unchanged.

In the dream, somewhere, there is always an aquarium; sometimes, it is just a little glass vase with only one inhabitant, but often it appears enormous and can contain thousands of individuals.

But no endangered fish or exotic, colourful species swim in these aquariums. Human beings swim there with dull, glassy eyes.

An unpleasant vision that feels apocalyptic.
I wake up upset, nervous, and furious.

THE VALUE OF TRANSPARENCY

My photographic works are full of glass because transparency is one of my personal values.
My transparency doesn’t indicate the quality of being ‘invisible’, but it’s the possibility of looking through and beyond.
Anyway, you can always buy a good pair of glasses.

See you.
Daniela


If you want to have information on the dimensions, print supports, editions and prices of this image click on the button below.

21Jul

Well, blood is thicker than water

Hamlet, 2021

The Shakespearean tragedy ‘Hamlet’ constantly challenged directors, actors, literary critics, spectators and readers.

It’s a theatrical work with complex interweaving and endless twists.

However, following the Bard in his dramaturgical madness forces us to give some intriguing reflections.

Therefore, let us enter the realm of the family and its internal mechanisms.

POISONOUS RELATIONS

Indeed, the family is the first and safest shelter for an individual, but it’s equally valid that the family environment
it’s also the first natural arena in which to learn to defend and fight.

Hamlet’s family is an excellent example of a lion’s den or, if you prefer, snakes.

Therefore, it’s clear from the outset how creeping is among the members of the royal family of Denmark the hate, resentment, envy,
the wildest ambition.

Sibling rivalry.

IN OTHER WORDS, ROTTEN BLOOD

The late King of Denmark, his brother Claudius, his wife Gertrude and his son Hamlet are all disturbing characters.

Hypocrisy reigns supreme among them.

Just observe how everyone, without exception, is ready to plot against each other.

The end result is a streak of blood, poisoned.

THE VANITIES’ FAIR

Inside this perverse mechanism that is this royal revenge (the real and only protagonist of the drama), they appear in the foreground some despicable aspects of the human soul.

In the drama, we encounter vanity as a thirst for power, diabolical calculation skills, vainglory and overestimating one’s abilities.

In conclusion, the right to recrimination can never turn into an act of bloody revenge.

You all know the ending.

Until next

Daniela


If you want to have information on the dimensions, print supports, editions and prices of this image

click on the button below.

07Jul

A million memories

Il Milione, 2021

Let’s play a game.

Close your eyes and imagine you perceiving a pungent smell of spices, of fish mixed with the scents of precious essences.
Imagine hearing the quiet lapping of the sea, living in the hypnotic city of Venice and being young.

Your name is Marco Polo.

You certainly know that you live in the centre of an incredible and magical world, but you feel annoyed, restless and unsatisfied.

You have millions of expectations and desires.

So, sooner or later, you will leave home, as far away as possible and no matter where.

ALIEN ENCOUNTERS

Your journey towards unknown destinations fascinates you like the ‘song of the Sirens’, even when it could become dangerous and uncertain.

But, after all, you haven’t much to lose and much to gain.

Perhaps you’ll return home rich in goods and money, but in the end, your mind and heart will be full of incomparable visions and memories.

You’ll come back with a different light in your eyes.

TURNING ROUND AROUND (YOUR) WORLD

And after thousands of kilometres through lands and sea, deserts and glaciers, of encounters with emperors, kings, tempting girls and murderous marauders, you will feel the unstoppable need to return to your country, to your world.

That world that we always carry with us, always inside us.

Even the ‘different one’, we bring it inside us.

Therefore you will discover that you have walked not a path in a straight line but on a circle.

So you realise that you are the traveller, the journey and the destination.

PRAISE OF CURIOSITY

What the human story of the man Marco Polo and his fantastic memories show us it’s the supreme value of human curiosity.

The curiosity to know what is different from us to better know and understand ourselves.

And in that journey towards this knowledge, real or metaphorical, we will create a million priceless memories for ourselves and those who meet us.

This is the experience of true travelling for every human being.

Until next
Daniela


If you want to have information on the dimensions, print supports, editions and prices of this image,

click on the button below.

DANIELA BOMBELLI Digital Art background image