What do we leave behind when we let go of this mortal coil? My parents left 3 children, of which I was one- even though I was baptized with rum, as I wasn't expected to survive!!! I've made up for it since.................... I haven't given birth to children so I won't be bequeathing a new generation. Having worked with everyone else's kids I was more than glad to give them back at the end of the day-lovingly of course lol. Some would say we leave behind us the effects of our good deeds/love in the ether-the ripple effect. Others leave behind beautiful handcrafted manuscripts, books, architecture, crafts and art, some as a token to their gods, others recording the everyday, to enrich, etc. I have always felt art has many dimensions - mythological, spiritual, political, psychological, social, and a record of history. How many times throughout history has ETHNIC and CULTURAL CLEANSING taken place under the guise of morality, religion and race. HITLER and the NAZIS ideology of a pure ARYAN race destroyed what they regarded as 'DEGENERATE ART' along with the murder of artists, writers and musicians.
We are now witnessing the destruction of ancient artefacts being bulldozed and destroyed in the cities of MOSUL, HATRA, & NIMRUD. Mosul is over 3,000 years old, Hatra 2000 years old. Although it is suggested that most of the sculptures in the MOSUL MUSEUM were copies at least 2 originals were destroyed- the 7th century WINGED BULL and the GOD OF ROZHAN. Here exists a moral dilemma- Is it better to sell these works to private collectors in order to raise funds to then buy ammunition and the tools of warfare or to destroy them? How do I as an artist make reference to the above destruction of art? I have done a series of 'MANUSCRIPTS/SCROLLS' that reference the beginnings of the written word as a form of communication. I am enthralled by the DEAD SEA SCROLLS, their physicality and their survival. I make reference to the 10 COMMANDMENTS in both HEBREW and the construction of my own language written on hand made paper. Both as a poet and artist the use of WORDS as communication is essential to who I am. I want to draw attention to the fragility of the written word throughout civilization and how easily it can be destroyed.