Welcome to the Summer 2015 edition of my Artist Newsletter. It's been a fun few months with some delightfully unexpected events happening, as well as some hard work completing my first major writing project, soon to be a 340-page book, On Vision and Being Human. In this newsletter, you can see some reports on these recent events, including a visit to San Francisco for the launch of 'The Encyclopaedia of Fernal Affairs', a collaborative Dreams & Divinities book, the appearance of my Queer Hero Lucaion at a show in Dublin, and an unexpected opportunity to give a talk at Breaking Convention 2015, Europe's largest psychedelic conference. As we move into the height of summer, my artistic soul is glowing in the sunshine!
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:: ON VISION AND BEING HUMAN ::
A delightfully illustrated book from Bruce Rimell exploring visionary experience and human cultural origins
:: RELEASE DATE - NOVEMBER 1ST - PREORDER FROM SEPTEMBER 1ST ::
After many years of consideration and many months of writing, I am proud to announce the publication of a book, entitled 'On Vision and Being Human: Exploring the Menstrual, Neurological and Symbolic Origins of Culture', through my own publishing imprint Xibalba Books. This ambitiously-scoped essay seeks to explore the perceptual problems presented by visionary experience in the modern world, and attempts to utilise strictly scientific views of quantum mechanics and Darwinism, along with speculative approaches to neurology and ethnography to come to a new understanding of the human being in the twenty-first century as living in two entirely different worlds - one of evidence and one of symbolism - as the first statement in a new philosophy of Visionary Humanism.
This beautifully-presented 340-page book features 30 beautiful monochrome visionary illustrations which expand upon and animate the text, as well as endnotes and detailed annotations. It is to be published on November 1st 2015, but preorder from THIS PAGE will be available from September 1st. 'On Vision and Being Human' will also be available from Lulu, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other notable outlets in the autumn. Please Click Here or the image below to read about the book in full, and to see some preview pages.
:: THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FERNAL AFFAIRS ::
A fascinating and unique visionary and surrealist art book from Dreams & Divinities
:: Limited edition - Now available from Liba WS ::
Dreams & Divinities is delighted to announce the release of a truly exciting and unique book, 'The Encyclopaedia of Fernal Affairs'. Conceived in 2013 by artists Liba Waring Stambollion and Gromyko Semper as well as myself, this book explores a collective artistic vision of a sublime and paradisiacal Garden of Fernal Delights, a multidimensional place where "all the delights of the natural world from the sexual to the surreal, the visionary to the instinctive, are celebrated as fundamental joys of being alive." This book features artwork from a stunning arrany of amazing artists, including Ernst Fuchs, Martina Hoffman, Carrie Ann Baade, Liba WS, Gromyko Semper, Otto Rapp and over 100 more, and includes several of my artworks and Fernalese, a fully working constructed language designed to animate the Garden. The book is now available from Liba WS via this link and is limited to 1000 copies, so act quickly to ensure you can enjoy this wonderful and unique publishing phenomenon!
:: DREAMS & DIVINITIES IN SAN FRANCISCO ::
Bash Contemporary Gallery, San Francisco, USA (May 30th - June 30th 2015)
At the end of May 2015, my husband Chris and I travelled to San Francisco for the launch of 'The Encyclopaedia of Fernal Affairs' and for an exhibition at Bash Contemporary Gallery. We met some wonderful people - and saw some wonderful sights! - and it was the first time that my dual-image daylight/UV media was showcased in the USA. The revelation of the hidden image was well-received, as can be seen from my relief and delight in the photo above! The exhibition now moves to a beautiful new gallery venue in Los Angeles in the autumn. Click the image below to see the dual-image medium of Fernal Ocean Garden in full effect!
:: MAKING OUT - THE EXQUISITE DIVERSITY OF DESIRE ::
Gallery X, 3 Herbert Street, Dublin, Ireland (May 15th - June 14th 2015)
In the first of two delightful and unplanned surprises since my last newsletter, my artwork Lucaion Fisher Of The Stars was accepted into a group show entitled Making Out - The Exquisite Diversity Of Desire at Gallery X in Dublin this May. This exhibition was in support of a Yes vote on the Equal Marriage referendum which was held - and successful won, granting equal rights of marriage to both straight and gay people - in Ireland in June 2015. I am very proud that my Queer Hero Lucaion was able to provide a small voice of support for this noble cause. Exclusive giclee prints of Lucaion are available from Gallery X via this link or by clicking on the image above.
:: XIBALBA BOOKS ::
Announcing the formal launch of my publishing imprint
I have been self-publishing limited edition art books and occasional collections of poetry for several years under the 'Xibalba Books' name, and with the publication of my new essay On Vision and Being Human, I have decided to formally launch it as a venture and make my formerly limited edition books more widely available. This will include Eleusis, my treatise and painted series on the Eleusinian Mysteries as well as two poetic works, Minver Stories and Xibalba Songs. Two publications are also scheduled for 2016.
:: BREAKING CONVENTION 2015 ::
University of Greenwich, London, UK (July 10th-12th 2015)
The second unexpected surprise was an impromptu invitation to speak at Breaking Convention, Europe's largest conference on psychedelic studies, to replace a speaker who was unable to attend. With only a few days notice, I decided to speak about my book,'On Vision and Being Human' as part of the Art, Creativity and Consciousness discussion on the final day. This was a wonderful opportunity and I was deeply grateful to the organisers of the conference and discussion for the invitation. A video of my presentation will be posted here once it is uploaded (likely in the autumn).
:: UNIQUE AND EYE-POPPING T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE! ::
In another new development for my arts practice, I am releasing a limited number of my artworks as designs for T-Shirts and have thus opened two small T-shirt outlets: one on Nuvango.com for All-Over Print T-Shirts and another on RedBubble.com for Psychedelic Designs. These unique and eye-catching T-shirts are available at affordable prices and are perfect for parties, clubwear and for those who love the idea of wearable art!
:: A QUICK NOTE ON THE VOICE PROJECT ::
My dual-image visionary mural of the Island of Britain!
Those of you who have supported my Voice Project from the very beginning back in 2013 may have noted the slow progress on this visionary mural of late. This is because of an arm injury in late 2014 which prevented me from painting for several months. Happily I am able to report that the injury is mostly healed, but as it was a torn tendon, the healing process is very slow. At present I am still only able to work on small artworks rather than big projects like The Voice which require a much greater commitment of energy.
Rest assured, though, that I remain 100% committed to completing this mural, and I hope my arm will be healed enough to begin again at the end of this year, and to make 2016 my Year Of The Voice! In the meantime, click the image above to explore the latest stage of development on the project!
:: NEW ARTWORKS ::
As ever, I like to finish off my newsletter with a preview of new artworks. Here are two new images from an emerging series to be called 'Ta Sba Balamil, Ta Ch'ulel ~ On The Face Of The Earth And In Dreams', a small series of artworks springing from dreams, visions and experiences during my 2014 visit to Mexico. Each painting is to be accompanied by a poem, and I hope to collate the paintings and poems into a delightful A5 book before the end of 2016. Watch this space for updates!
