:: 2014-17 :: 50cm x 75cm :: Acrylics, Inks and Markers on Canvas ::
This image came from a dream the night before we left Mexico. I found myself in a strange and winding bookshop. The owner took me into the labyrinth and dusted off some large-format books, from which he pulled out a beautiful, two-foot tall tome with an embroidered cover. He told me it was the Book of the Tzotzil Maya Language, and that I could take it away with me. Instinctively I turned to the last page, which was titled 'The True Words Of Life'. The page was covered with Maya Hieroglyphs that I could almost... almost read...
This image resonated with me in two ways: firstly the Tzotzil call their language Batz'i K'op, 'true words', and so this book of the language became these true words. Secondly, it recalled the early visions of Mexican shaman Maria Sabina, who in her mushroom visions saw herself being given a Secret Book of True Words from the saints and the ancestors...
