Call from the Wild to Rise

2008
52 x 48 in.
oil on canvas
Yucatán, Mexico

 

The artist was on a small boat in the Yucatán when the boatsman pointed up towards the rock-face above. As her eyes followed his finger she had a vision of a massive Mayan mask carved into the stone; in actuality, it was a natural formation of mineral deposits. The artist heard a deep rumbling: Call from the Wild to Rise.

A dark canal with roots emerge from the bottom left of the canvas and move inward towards the mask in the center. In the mask’s right eye is an angel with a prayer book, ready to guide humanity towards the light. Below that sits a native man inside an egg, patiently waiting without expectation as he meditates on mankind’s potential for ascension.

This image inspired a story about the elements, the need to rebalance them and the First Nation’s perspective on how to do this.