Ugonna Hosten
In the wake of our daughter’s becoming, 2023
Charcoal, graphite & soft pastel on paper
118.5 x 151 cm
46 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (unframed)
127.5 x 160.5 x 5 cm
50 1/4 x 63 1/4 x 2 in (framed)
46 5/8 x 59 1/2 in (unframed)
127.5 x 160.5 x 5 cm
50 1/4 x 63 1/4 x 2 in (framed)
UHO 016
In a dark, barnacle-encrusted cave blossoming with lush vegetation, an intimate initiation ritual takes place in the presence of various spirit entities. The title suggests a wake keeping is in...
In a dark, barnacle-encrusted cave blossoming with lush vegetation, an intimate initiation ritual takes place in the presence of various spirit entities.
The title suggests a wake keeping is in progress, it is reminiscent of a shamanic pattern of an initiation of descent, death, and rebirth..The heroine is in a secret subterranean realm and her whole body is offered in its entirety as a vessel laid down whilst the fresh tide floods the cave floor. The body of the initiate is united with the elemental properties of the earth and water, signalling that a transformation has taken place.
In this initiation the spirit of the heroine has been released and purified in the water. As the head of the heroine levitates and hovers above the threshing waters, the transformed spirit has joined with the purified body and created a union of body
and spirit. The heroine’s body is no longer corporeal and has attained a new level of being, we the viewer are witnesses to a symbolic death (ego death) and a rebirth.
The title suggests a wake keeping is in progress, it is reminiscent of a shamanic pattern of an initiation of descent, death, and rebirth..The heroine is in a secret subterranean realm and her whole body is offered in its entirety as a vessel laid down whilst the fresh tide floods the cave floor. The body of the initiate is united with the elemental properties of the earth and water, signalling that a transformation has taken place.
In this initiation the spirit of the heroine has been released and purified in the water. As the head of the heroine levitates and hovers above the threshing waters, the transformed spirit has joined with the purified body and created a union of body
and spirit. The heroine’s body is no longer corporeal and has attained a new level of being, we the viewer are witnesses to a symbolic death (ego death) and a rebirth.