GARLAND OF SKULLS
Recently on view in a solo exhibition at Voltz Clarke Gallery in New York City, this ongoing series of fifty-one refers to the skull garland from the ancient charnal grounds of India. In tantric lore, the garland of skulls is an alchemical symbol of Enlightened Speech. It is worn around the neck, ornamenting the throat, which is the energetic center of speech and expression. Each painting in this series is an exploration of the dynamic energy arising and dissolving as an illusory play of Form and Emptiness. At the outer level, the skull symbolizes impermanence and the ephemeral nature of all phenomena. At the inner level, the skulls are the ornaments of pure Awareness, symbolizing the death of limited conceptuality and ego. Naked and primordial, at the secret level, the skull displays the deathless, primal force of creative potency itself.
