|
XIBALBA-The
Unseen World Sound installation: Gerhard Junker March 26 - April 7, 1999 Palm house
of Schönbrunn Castle |
|
|
Paintings
in oil and oil-based crayon on translucent materials are directly exposed
to the natural environment that the palm house simulates. The visitor
is confronted with a sensual experience structured by a contemporary
artistic interpretation of a 1000-year-old pictorial language. The Maya
were a Stone Age people: the wheel was still unknown, yet they possessed
an uncanny knowledge of astronomy and still not fully deciphered glyphs.
In their view, the world consisted of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds,
the latter being inhabited and characterized by special humans, animals
and hybrid creatures. XIBALBA, the place of awe, was always rooted in
the real threats of the rainforest and in the link to the mystical future.
Their attitude towards death was shifted to a different level of consciousness,
yet remained entwined with fear and uncertainty. The painter Sylvie
Proidl participated in an archeological study in Yaxha, Guatemala, in
January 1998. Her work in the rainforest inspired her to capture the
strong meditative power of this site in the series of paintings presented
here. |
||
