negev rock art • bradford canvas banners • flying fox
:: exploring 4000 year old petroglyphs in Israel's Negev Desert ::
:: view other images from this project ::
"THE MAGIC OF ARROWS AND BLOOD"
2007 : 42cm x 29 cm : Inks & markers on card
Another strongly desert-themed piece, this one. The original petroglyph appeared to depict a magical ritual: it's possible that the creation of the original petroglyph might have been the magic in itself rather than representing an event that actually happened. In any case, I found it interesting that two aspects of killing power were shown: the flying arrow, and the biting dogs. I felt that the magic might have been an intent to capture their killing power so as to increase the fertility of the tribe: by killing more ibexes, there would be greater success and happier life for the people of the Negev. There's something ancient about such a thought, and although the rock art is only 4000 years old, it speaks of something much older, closer to the Palaeolithic Great Hunt rather than the Neolithic Middle East. |

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