DREAMING ABOUT
THE CELESTIAL MOUNTAIN
Marlay Park
This work was inspired by a reference I found to a place called The Celestial Mountain* - a name that suggested somewhere magical and unreachable. Unable to locate it on maps, I built an image of it in my mind associated with memory, grief, and journeys that can only be made in the imagination.
*Tien Shan - The Mountains of Heaven
The labrynthine paths that wind their way to the summit are bordered by small native trees. As the trees grow, their branches will arch across the paths, forming private green tunnels around the hillside. In time, the dreaming face on the hilltop will be hidden from casual view, visible only when searched for.
Most sculpture projects are finished when the artist walks away. With Dreaming About The Celestial Mountain, part of the work is the gradual transformation of the site itself. What people see in five years will be different from the work they see in twenty.
A poem, inscribed on the steps leading to the work, describes the rituals required for a successful journey.
Firstly you search for a fine young swift
With sickle-grey wings to slice the wind
A wing to sweep to the south when it snows
A wing to soar to the north when it blows
Three times approach and ask for a feather -
Three times tightly bind them together
One from the tail for direction
One from the right wing for strength
One from the left wing for stealth
Wait for a night when the new moon of
spring hangs in a cold grey sky
And the wind has dropped and veered from the west
Then lower your head, uncover your breast
Burn the feathers - walk through the smoke -
Gather it round you to wear as a cloak
And hide yourself from your sorrows