Palingenesis: Chymical Allegories of Rebirth is a hand-made scroll printed on Mitsumata Iron Oxide Pink paper. It can be read horizontally on a table or hung vertically on a wall.
It explores the theme of palingenesis in 17-century chemistry. From the Greek palin (“again”) + genesis (“life”), palingenesis signifies rebirth and recreation. In the 17th-century, this rebirth was most often figured through the recreation of a flower from its ashes.
The scroll contains my Palingenesis series of illustrations; source quotes from 17th-century science, philosophy, and poetry on the theme of palingenesis; and my poem “Ash Fallen Stars.”
The current exhibition on misneach explores the theme of courage and spirited well-being when facing the challenges of an uncertain world. The theme of palingenesis speaks to the quality of imaginative courage. Although 17th-century scientists and poets were uncertain whether they could recreate a flower from its ashes, the trope served as an allegory of hope. It inspired a vision of life reborn from ash.
“Ash Fallen Stars”
roses spring
from ash fallen stars
I dream of you my darling
will we meet again
smiling,
at the end of time
like glowing flowers risen
in a starless night?
