Honey For The Mistress Of The Labyrinth

150cm x 90cm in 15 panels
Acrylics, Gouache, Inks & Markers on Canvas

Inspired by the vibrant frescoes and images of vitality found throughout Minoan archaeology, this multi-panel work explores the original Minoan conception of the labyrinth as a transformative spiral dance, as outlined in my recent essay Minoan Honey: The Bull, The Mushroom And The Mistress Of the Dance. We see here the central figure of Mistress Ariadne as the initiator, participant and ultimate truth of the dance, unwinding for us a mandala of an anti-clockwise spiral which passes by an image of Glaucos as a sea deity before confronting the famous bull-leaper. As the spiral rolls out above Ariadne's head we move from the realm of life to that of death and greet a gorgon mask and an owl before arriving at our final point: an image of Minos-Asterion as transcendent grandfather and grandson followed by the drowned Glaucos in the honey mushroom pot.

This work brings together ideas from diverse thinkers as Cretan archaeologist Nikolaos Platon and psychedelic theorist Terence McKenna, and is exhibiting in ArtMazia Gallery in Massy, France throughout much of 2009. A limited edition commentary booklet which explores this transcendental mandala in detail is currently in production and should be available from my website www.biroz.net very soon.