Communion

 

Communion (detail)

 

 

“We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.” ― Rumi

 

 

 

 

 

This new series of mine is a continuing exploration through my practice of paper cutting of the concept of achieving transcendental mental states through spiritual practices. This is a theme I initially began to explore with pieces entitled Rapture (here), and which I am expanding with these Communion pieces. These artworks take their inspiration from a long-held interest I have had with the Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevi Order of the Sufi sect of the Islamic faith. I am fascinated by the beauty and grace of the movements of the most skilled practitioners of this whirling with their arms outstretched and raised in supplication to a higher power, and the serenity and grace of the expressions of their faces, whilst rapt in their act of worship. The spectacle of their highly distinctive style of dress with their tall, conical felt hats (sikkes), white costumes, and the dramatic billowing movements of the fullness of their shirt-like cloaks (hiphas) as they whirl while entranced, is also a source of intrigue. The Turkish Mevlevi order of dervishes are the best known for the physically active meditation which is their whirling, and their practice of using dance and ritualised spinning to achieve ecstatic states of consciousness and communion with a higher force and source of all perfection (kemal). The ceremony in which the dervishes whirl, play instruments, recite poetry, pray and dance is known as Sama which means "listening". Participants in this dhikr (Islamic devotional act) ritual move as a group in a circle while also rotating individually within the circle. Art is "self-expression", while Sama is "selfless expression", and an expression of "fanaa" which in Sufism means the "annilhilation" of the self (ego). The Sama represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to perfection. Turning towards truth, the participant grows through love, abandons his ego, finds the truth and arrives at a state of perfection or nirvana. He then returns from his spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and be of service to the whole of creation. 

 

I thought that the most appropriate form of expression for me to depict the transcendent sensations that the whirling dervishes must feel whilst in the throes of their dance was to adopt traditional Islamic pattern designs. These decorative patterns themselves appear grid-like and ritualistic. Their patterns dazzle the eye evoking the sense of movement and a trance-like sensation in the viewer. This series has been an important one for me personally as I was forced to adopt a different way of working in order to create the patterns. I temporarily put aside my faithful scissors, and instead was forced to adopt the use of a scalpel (Joseph Scalpelhands!) to carve out the intricate decorative patterns from my hand-gilded papers. It was an interesting experiment. I found it to be a very effective way of developing and introducing an element of decorative pattern into my artwork. It is a technique I intend to adapt further with my art in the future. 

This series takes its title from that highly personal communion with source/God which the Whirling Dervish dancers achieve when they abandon their egos and personal desires and instead focus on love as they whirl repetitively. The repetitive individual spinning whilst rotating in a circle among fellow dervishes has been likened symbolically to the way in which the planets in our solar system constantly orbit the sun. I thought that capturing this element of the ritual cycle of circles in my artwork was important. As a result I have used an Islamic geometric design of a smaller set of stars that circle and appear to rotate around a larger main star, which was then combined with my butterflies adding to a sense of movement and spirituality that the dancers would feel within the finished pieces.