DISIR SERIES
Los Angeles, U.S.A
From January till April, 3 of my recent artworks were exhibited on the group show “Behind the Mask” curated by Sarah Umles, at Angels Gate Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.
The 3 paintings i showed were inspired by the "Dísir" from the Norse Mythology. The Dísir were female divinities, often portrayed as being tutelary (guardian) spirits of a particular person, group, or location. Little is known with certainty about the Dísir, Many stories show them as defenders of people and Gods, showing themselves to them when they need advice, in imminent danger and trying to dissuade or warn them. In my opinion nowadays, Dísir can be every mother or woman around the world, from different countries or cultures that protects an idea or people... or are like a knowledge or warning charm.
I created these 3 portrait paintings in honor of this ancestral anonymous group of protector female spirits. These paintings are the creation of 3 new "Dísir", they are wearing a mask as symbol, more than to conceal a single recognized identity; Also with the hair rendered as a cosmos, like the immensity of possibilities.
Transformation and evolution
The first painting depict a woman wearing a mask with a wavy snake drawn in it, this is a Nordic Witch Rune of transformation, it represents those changes that have to do with shedding old skins, those things that have already completed a cycle. The Serpent appears to mark us that taking off our old skins is to heal, grow, re-create, evolve.
Secret and protection
In the second one, the woman is wearing a mask with a bright lock, that means the secrets under the mask but also the protection; her hands are rendered with color symbolizing a deeper touch, more sensorial. This painting is more about the introspective knowledge and how to transmit it.
Balance and knowledge
The third painting depicts a woman wearing a mask with a key as a symbol of knowledge and the ability to open the doors of life; and the Fleur de Lis, emblem of the awakening of spring and symbol of fertility, clarity and spiritual balance. A key is a path-breaking amulet, source of new opportunities for well-being. This painting represents the inner Balance and knowledge.