2020s
Cunera returned to her churh in Rhenen,
with the scarf that was used to strangle her still around her neck, and in her
right hand the bunch of keys to the treasure chambers entrusted to her by King
Radboud. Her return was accompanied by and to the delight of the horses from
the stable where the strangulation took place.
2010s
Since 3.000 years B.C. inhabitants of
Harappa and Mohenjodaro, early civilization around the Indus valley in
Tat
Savitur varenyam. Let
us meditate on the splendor of God Savitar.
Bhargo
devasya dhimahi, May
our minds be inspired,
Dhiyo
yo nah pracodayat. By
that divine light.
God Shiva
appears as Nataraja, not as Lord but
as Lady of Dance. She eternally turns the wheel of flames, the cycle of birth
and rebith, forever destroying worn parts of the universe to make space for
creation. In this case the weary world is patriarchy, caused by the privilege,
selfish and competitive nature of most man. The
Who
is afraid of Calon Arang’s daughter
The frightening Rangda figure at top right of the painting is Calon Arang, a lovely woman who by unfortunate circumstances
becomes a wicked widow. She obtains powerful black magic power by worshipping
the fierce or dark side of the protective Mother Goddess, Durga (Kali, wife of Siwa, Buddhism: Palden Lhamo).
To attract men's attention, she put her
daughter Ratna Manggali at the most
attractive way on her lap. But despite the fact that her daughter is the most
beautiful woman of the entire 11th century Kahuripan
kingdom, no men dare to marry her due to fear for the mother’s overwhelming
power.
Enraged by the idea that without
husband her beloved daughter may never be happy, she put a spell to destroy the
kingdom, causing devastation as shown at the background of the painting.
Unlike the birth of Venus, the water surface during the
birth of Goddess Prajnaparamita is
smooth and calm, except around Her birth. Her shell is kept in balance by the
two Hinduism mythical dragons Basuki
and Anantaboga. She is the embodiment
of the perfect wisdom (Prajna =
wisdom, Paramita = perfection). Her
perfect insight of the reality as emptiness or not-self (Buddhism: Shunyata, Hinduism: Anatman) is indispensable for the Bodhisattvas and makes that She rules over all contradictions such
as wealth, time, religion etc.
That is why Her birth is welcomed by
all sides. In the drawing, the contradiction of wealth is symbolized by the
boat refugees (middle left, disadvantaged) and the yacht woman (middle right,
advantaged). The contradiction of time by mythical birds Garuda (above right, past), submarine, yacht (middle right,
present) and spacemen (above left, future). The contradictions of religion by
the adherents of various religions. Her birth is blessed by the Balinese
Hinduism priest pedanda Siwa (below
left, ringing his genta) and Balinese
Buddhism priest pedanda Budha (below
right, holding his holly water bowl).
The
visit of the late grandmother II
Like The visit of the
late grandmother I, the image of my never-known late grandmother determines
this painting. She appears on the east-bridge of Tirtagangga when a peaceful situation is threatened, expressed
respectively by the sleeping child and by the vultures.
Her supernatural appearance is enhanced
by the moon scenery and by the dragon sculptures on both sides of the stair,
which came to life due to the approaching danger.
Turning the wheel of life continuously
in the centre of the drawing is a dancing act of Siwa, the Lord of Dance (Nataraja).
As long as addicted to illusion, mankind, in the drawing represented by women
of different origins, will always subject to this dance. Amused by the dance,
the women do not realize that the reason of their laugh is precisely the reason
why it will end.
To symbolize the submission of
illusion, Siwa stands upon its
embodiment, the demon dwarf Apasmara
Purusha.
The painting shows the unexpected
encounter of an oriental and a western nymph. On the right side is the Balinese
expression of a nymph, Legong. She
stands in front of a female western angel, who is also supernatural, heavenly
and divine feminine. As they operate on the same spiritual level, most likely
they meet each other. Such an encounter would be accompanied by intense
curiosity on both sides for the strange appearance of the opposite. At the same
time, affection arises as they know they are creatures of the same order.
Meanwhile, as usual on earth, most
people swims aimless in all directions, unaware of the encounter above them.
1990s
The drawing is also a family portrait,
from top left: my daughter Sita, my
late wife Marike, my self and my
daughter Manik, respectively at the
age of 9, 47, 46 and 15.
The painting shows astronauts during
spacewalk taken by surprise when Garuda,
a Hinduism-Buddhism legendary bird-like divinity, approached them.
Agni is the universal energy when it
manifests as fire. In our time, the greatness of Agni is shown when a super
tanker is on fire. Even an immense human achievement like a super tanker can
not escape from Agni’s power.
As God, Agni can take any shape. In
this painting He has two faces, allowing His angels to continue adore Him, even
though they are in upside down position.
This painting depicts the universal
proverb that only love can overcome hate. Rangda
as symbol of hate reclines on the lap of a loving Balinese wife. The heart of
even the most evil Rangda melts when
experiencing her pure affection.
The painting shows a peaceful world
threatened by progress. The peaceful situation is portrayed by the Balinese
woman, the offerings and the reclining cat. The woman and the cat were
disturbed by the progress, represented by the oncoming bulldozer. Often wisdom,
portrayed as God of wisdom Ganesa at
the front of the bulldozer, is used
as an argument to disturb a peaceful situation. The threat is reinforced by the
presence of nuclear reactor towers in the background.
In this painting, Siwa turns the wheel of misery,
Samsara, for ever. Besides Siwa, Durga is also present as a youthful
western ballet dancer. She also dances in joy while turning a car tire, a
modern version of the wheel. Durga
symbolises the dark sides of Siwa and
is often seen as His wife.
One usually wonders why Siwa turning the wheel of misery in joy.
It is to emphasize that misery, transiency, destruction and decay are just as
indispensable as creation, happiness, preservation and redemption. According to
Hinduism-Buddhism, creation, protection and deterioration are different stages
of the same entity. In the earthly Samsara
existence, as long as life is determined by illusions, these phases will follow
each other for ever, just like the spinning wheel turned eternally by Siwa.
The destruction is emphasized by car
wrecks and by radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors.
The
visit of the late grandmother I
During this painting, the image of my
grandmother emerged continuously. I never knew my grandmother, because she died
short after she delivered my father.
The supernatural ambiance is enhanced
by the dragon sculptures on both sides of the stair, which come to life by her
visit.
Each event can be placed in the
continuous flows of creation, preservation and deterioration. Brahma, Wisnu and Siwa are the Trimurti Gods that represent these
flows. An unfortunate event, such as a plane crash, is just a part of this
continuous stream.
The painting also represents the
Balinese cosmos. It is carried by the Bedawangnala
turtle, and kept in balance by the two Basuki
and Anantaboga dragons. The upper
world of Gods, where the Trimurti
Gods as pilots control the cosmos, is always displayed at the top, and the
under world where the demons feasting on the remains of crash, at the bottom.
The Trimurti
Gods and the Agung mountain in the
background radiate a white glow, an expression of divinity.
The painting shows the unexpected
encounter of an oriental and a western nymph. On the left side is the Balinese
expression of a nymph, Legong. She
stands in front of a female western angel, who is also supernatural, heavenly
and divine feminine. As they operate on the same spiritual level, most likely
they meet each other. Such an encounter would be accompanied by intense
curiosity on both sides for the strange appearance of the opposite. At the same
time, affection arises as they know they are creatures of the same order.
Internal, external,
conceptual
The Hindu concept Triloka divides the cosmos into Bhur,
Bhuvah and Svah. Bhur is the under
world of demons, Bhuvah is the middle
world of man and other worldly creatures, and Svah is the upper world of Gods.
Man himself can be divided into these 3
worlds. His concept of the existence, usually expressed in a belief such as a
religion, scientism, atheism, rationalism, humanism, creationism, empiricism
etc. belongs to the upper world. The reality as it comes subjectively to him
daily, including his view on himself, belongs to the middle world. What he
really is, like his unconscious fears and desires, belongs to the under world.
In the present information technology,
this division is found in the 3-schemes of information systems. The concept or
logical model of a system is the conceptual scheme (upper world). The
appearance as experienced by the user of the system, is the external scheme
(middle world). The real characteristics of the system, such as the actual
electronic impulses in the chip, belong to the internal scheme (under world).
In the painting, these schemes can be seen on the printed circuit board.
The painting also shows the
Hinduism-Buddhism concept of dualism, which put entities in between opposites
such as good and bad, happiness and sorrow, peacefulness and threats.
Peacefulness is expressed by the baby, the baby’s toys and natural curiosity to
discover the world through items such as a computer mouse. The threats are
represented by the vultures that are eager to devour the baby, and by nuclear
reactor towers in the background.
1980s
At the background are the mountains
(from left) Batur, Abang and Agung, as they were visible from my parent’s house in Kintamani,
1970s
The rise and fall of women.
The society building of the Delft Students Corps in the town centre
of
After a view months in