Click below to enter
I s i s H o r u s O s i r i s
Silk Mill Gallery, Frome
11–12 February 2017
01 — Exhibition
Silk Mill Gallery, Frome, BA11 1PT
10–12 February 2017
Andrew Shackleton
This exhibition used close-up photographs of eyes submitted by the public during a seven-week period between 1 December 2016 and 20 January 2017. Considering eyes are regarded as the window to the soul, the artist’s intention was to use these photographs as an invocation to the ancient Egyptian gods Isis, Horus and Osiris.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, Isis (the mother) is regarded as the divine feminine and is associated with the Moon. Osiris (the father) is regarded as the divine masculine and is associated with the Sun. Horus (the son / holy ghost) is regarded as the first incarnation of the gods on Earth; every pharaoh was believed to be his earthly embodiment. Horus is associated with the Earth and the mystical third eye, the eye of Horus. Horus was also known as the sky god and was considered to contain the Sun in his right eye and the Moon in his left eye.
02 — East wall
On the east wall a video triptych represented a reconnection of humanity’s divine self to the wider universe, through the three ancient gods Isis, Horus and Osiris.
Left eye
Moon · divine feminine
All the left eyes received were used in the Moon (Isis) cycle, coming into view as the moon travels through its new-moon (black) phase. The moon reminds us of birth, death and the cycles in between. The rebirth of the moon, from new to full, gives a hint of a soul’s cycles of continual reincarnation. The darkness denotes the beginning, and symbolically represents the start of something new: a renewal.
Fibonacci eyes
Earth · third eye
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 13th, 21st, 34th, 55th and 89th eyes received — the Fibonacci sequence, related to the golden ratio, which occurs throughout the natural world — were used in the Earth (Horus) cycle. The spinning Earth superimposed over the pupil represents our place in the universe. The Earth is our material home, but we are not bound by it. Our divine nature transcends our physical and material self, and is connected to and part of the wider universe.
Right eye
Sun · divine masculine
All the right eyes received were used in the Sun (Osiris) cycle. They are colourised to show the universe within them, within us, bringing hidden depths into clear view. The solar flares coming off the eyes represent the innate power within our divine self, exploding out into the cosmos. As Aleister Crowley proclaimed, “Every man and woman is a star.”
03 — The room
Photographs from the installation, the opening on 10 February, and the two public days that followed.
04 — West wall
On the west wall a 13 × 8 grid of A6 framed postcards — one for each eye, superimposed on the wings of a butterfly — was arranged to trace the golden spiral: a reference to the mathematics of nature and to a spiritual seeking. The butterfly is a representation of life. Many cultures associate it with the soul, and with resurrection, freedom and transformation.
Together, both pieces symbolically represent and invoke a connection with the wider universe; the freedom, transformation and transcendence of the soul; through a reconnection with Isis, Horus and Osiris.
We come from the darkness into the light.
Submission order, 1 to 104. Marked cells are the ten Fibonacci eyes used in the Earth cycle.
05 — Count
06 — Contributors
Names as submitted with each photograph. The register does not publish the email addresses stored in the original filenames.