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Land Art
This work by artist Dechen Chodron was created on the eve of the Spring Equinox
Constructed from hundreds of slender fingers of wooden kindling formed into a wide circle, the sculpture represents the first ripple which sets out when a drop hits a pool, knowing this ripple will travel and increase in power until it reaches the shore.
It is also a huge iris staring upward from the earth. It personifies our need to take a slow careful look at ourselves, at our relationship with other peoples, and our relationship with the earth's natural environment. In Ancient Greece 'Iris' was the word uttered by the gods whenever there was a war in the Heavens or upon the Earth. Upon calling this name, a goddess would appear who walked the sky between the warring parties, forming bridges of coloured light wherever she went. This goddess became known as Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow, and the bringer of peace.
The hole at the centre of the sculpture is the void which sits within the circle of life. In the Australian Aboriginal story of the Rainbow Serpent, the void is a place of pure quietness and poise, a perfect stillness before the beginning of worlds. This void existed when there were only dreams, and is the place to which all things will temporarily return when all the worlds end. Placed upon the earth in this sculpture, it is symbolic of the hole which was formed when the first dreamer - the Rainbow Serpent - awoke and climbed onto the earth's surface.
From this place all dreams manifested into reality, and so with the beautiful serenity of Chalice Well as a catalyst, the work's intention is to energise harmony into the current crisis in Iraq, restoring peace to all peoples and all places upon this fragile planet we call home.
Adrian Beckingham, the Man from Story Mountain.
Many of the land art images are symbols from stories, either told by Dechen or by The Man from Story Mountain. They can be created specifically by Dechen, or in a workshop environment with Dechen delighting and teaching others to creative a beautiful piece that they are likely to revisit time and again during the life of the structure.
The land art can be used in a variety of ways, either as a ceremonial space, a sacred place, a meeting point, or simply a moment of beauty for a casual onlooker. The land art is becoming increasingly popular as a natural playground for young children, who will sit for hours happily creating and reforming patterns with the materials, and visit time and again to play some more.