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 Paintings & Mixed Media
I believe in the idea that we sense spiritual forces through the natural world. Water, wind, plants and patterns are inhabited or personified. Figures, faces and masks emerge and disappear from the ground much as they do in the subconscious, suggesting ceremony or transformation. One of my favorite books is My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola. In his folklore, he deals not with “deads” but with dangerous and mischievous spirits of the wild, in the heart of a tropical forest.
Animal symbolism is a constant in my artwork. I am driven by the idea that we each have one or more totem animals that act as messengers or spirit guides, and embody our internal conflicts. It is a popular misconception that we choose them. Rather, they choose us. I dream of these vessels, animals and anthropomorphic beings, and I paint them because they haunt me.
Janet Mathias
August 4, 2009
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