Description: Around the time of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) inauguration I was exploring panther and thunderbird imagery. In creating “Panther Jaguar Eagle”, I learned how important the Panther (Jaguar) and the Thunderbird (Condor) are as cultural icons. They are widely shared across Native American nations, spanning from South to North America. The panther (jaguar) = the connection to the ancestors residing in the spirit world (underworld). The Thunderbird (condor) represents the concept of re-birth and resurrection and the original creation (birth) of the universe through electricity (thunder and lightening). Similar symbols of the Panther (Jaguar) and Thunderbird (Condor) are found in depictions of Egyptian gods and goddesses, who are usually depicted wearing masks in the shape of birds and cats or lions. I realized that these representations were and are metaphors for creation, destruction and rebirth as our consciousness moves from one reality to another, symbolizing the ascension of the soul and the evolution of human consciousness.”Panther Jaguar Eagle” is part of the “Awakening Series” of archival pigment prints.
Spanning from South to North America, the Jaguar / Panther represents the connection to the ancestors who reside in the spirit world. But it carries an even deeper symbology because it guards the “gates” to that underworld, a metaphysical world (Xibalba in Mayan) of a different dimension or realm.
With my art in general, I’m crossing cultures and showing commonality. The overall message has to do with very old and powerful Native American concepts that revolve around a holistic understanding of the universe and the human relationship to all life forms, all levels and planes of knowing, all cycles, seasons..…all the elements.
Because of the state of the environment, this philosophy, which says we are part of everything and everything is part of us, is equally relevant to people of all walks of life!!
Medium: mixed media composite using photos, pen, colored pencil, imprinted clay & digital editing.
Print Format: variable media
Print Dimensions: multiple sizes