COSMIC WOMB

2022
sculpture/installation: wooden branches, jute rope, stones, clay
dimensions: sphere diameter ~221 cm, diameter of the ring on the ground ~5 m
Kunst in der Natur, Wachtberg/Gars am Kamp, Austria

She is the Moon, the Serpent, the Water. Dark matter of cosmos is her face - Black Madonna, Dark Mother-Matter, like dark chthonic womb of ocean, a sound-serpent-frequency weaved out of a cave. In her belly-cocoon-cradle I regain memory and dreams. Neurones reconnect with roots and mycelium consciousness. Without imagination and magic we become exploitable machines. Matter is indeed filled with spirit.

The installation was developed during an art symposium in Austria at the 29th edition of Kunst in der Natur Art Symposium.

This "moon cocoon," as I call it, is one of the works created as part of the research on the phases of the moon and lunar myths I am conducting in 2022/2023. 

My intention was to create an intimate space that supports energy concentration and regeneration. The shape of the sphere seemed to me the most appropriate for this purpose; it refers to the basic form in nature, from the atom to the cell to the stars. 

Constructed mainly of willow branches, it is reminiscent of the traditional dome-shaped structures of the sweat lodge, where ceremonies of purification, small death and symbolic rebirth take place. I wanted this "moon cocoon" too to be such a reminiscence of a space of reflection and renewal, like the womb of the Great Cosmic Mother, from which new life emerges. 

I found a suitable place near the pond. I cleared the area leaving the willow tree planted there earlier. On the ground I marked out a perfect circle with a diameter of about 5m. On part of the surface I laid the excavated light-colored clay in the shape of a moon sickle, and covered the rest with black earth. Within the circle I dug a hole about 40 cm deep, in it were placed the ends of branches, tangled with string and weighted with stones. I cleaned the branches of leaves and formed them into a ball shape, using jute twine and braiding the branches themselves. In the center I placed a wooden platform. I dug the circle on the ground and filled it with small stones.

Although it is open and only partially covered by the branches of the trees growing next to it, it gives the impression of a very intimate, muted and separated space. On top of that, the shape makes the energy in the cocoon concentrated and immediately puts the person inside into a state of heightened attentiveness and relaxation at the same time.