'Duneyr'

 The idea of a tree(Yggdrasil) marking the centre of the world is a symbol found far beyond Scandinavia.It was a dominating thought of a large part of Asia and Europe way before the Viking age. It's function was to join heaven and earth with an eagle in its branches being a bird of the sky & the serpent at its foot being a creature of the underworld.Middle Earth,where mankind live was created around the middle of the tree.

The tree is continually being destroyed and continually being renewed. The destruction is in part caused by the serpent which gnaws at its roots and the harts and goats which feed on its leaves & branches.

A series of work I've been developing is based on the 4 harts/stags who feed on the leaves.Their names are Dain,Dvalin,Duneyr and Durathror.

The deer can be symbolic for teaching us to tread our path being aware of the seen and unseen. Its renewed antlers are symbols of fertility,rejuvenation,rebirth,spiritual growth and the passage of time(Book of Symbols:Reflections on Archetypal Images.2012.Ed. A.Ronnberg.)

Here is Duneyr....

Layers of gesso,sand,acrylic paint,acrylic ink,silver leaf...built up,removed and layered again.It measures 40 x 40cm and will be on show at the Spring Fling launch and pop-up exhibition starting tomorrow at Gracefield Arts Centre,Dumfries....