Sino

The dynamic graffiti-like calligraphy of the square, circle and triangle, signifying the Tao, the way, dominates the piece. Greater than the dynasties, greater than regimes, greater than economics, it endures beyond everything. To quote Lao Tszu, “Indeed the hidden and the manifest give birth to each other.”
These forays into the unknown are perceived not only in the rich textures and intricate compositions of their elements but can also be felt within the fragile balance of space and form, thus making the invisible visible. In its literacy, this piece goes further than its sister paintings, descending from the world of abstract allusions to the more concrete associations of allegory — the conflicting forces of mystery and pragmatism of the East.
Against a background of burnt orange and sepia stains, peeling gold leaf speaks of a past glory. On a wall plastered in graffiti and political propaganda washed away by the rivers of change, the iconographic image of Mao Tse Tung is burnt like a tattoo on the decaying body of an inflexible regime. Below his patriarchal likeness, the eye is then swept in a clockwise spiral to where butterflies form an organised order representing the pretty rhetoric of ideology and the promises of social harmony under the constituted authority of a dictator, dreaming of metamorphosis and the inevitability of change. The X-ray images of two meditating skeletons possibly illuminate the violent truth and horror of spiritual and religious persecution under an imposed authority. In the bottom left hand corner, superimposed on and near the almost invisible blueprint of an ancient temple, other images elicit more tangible associations — Chinese ceremonial money used as funerary offerings to ease the transition into the next life — recalling death and a deep tradition of remembering. A magnificent Chinese dragon personifies the rule of the Mandarins and, below, a full colour fairy tale picture of magical landscapes, wise sages and illustrious personages furthers the recollection of the former lustre of the preceding dynasties. A rich tapestry of fertile mythology now faded into broken dreams.