Annie Long is a visual artist working in multi-media sculpture and oils living in Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia
spirit
1200–50; ME (n.) < L spîritus orig., a breathing, equiv. to spîri-, comb. form repr. spîrâre to breathe + -tus suffix of v. action
Life sometimes takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the heights and depths the physical body and the mind. We can access a plethora of information and ideas about how to make the most of both these parts of our lives and how to fix things if they go wrong.
Less clear in our society is how to deal with the third element of our make-up: our spirit. Until recently, organised religions claimed this territory but have fallen from favour as science gives us more control over our physical world and, hence, paternalistic models make less sense in western society. Currently, there is active exploration from the subatomic particle to esoteric philosophy as explanations and guides of this phenomenon.
My own experiences have led me increasingly to see the world in terms of energy. The animating force present in all things that is both an expression of the universal and how the individual uses it. This series of paintings is exploring the interaction of universal energy with the body and mind, and asks do we bring the spirit to a relationship or place or does the spirit bring us? It is the spirit in this process that achieves a state of union: the lines that separate parts gradually disappear. Although these paintings depict male and female figures, I see them as a metaphor for a union between parts of the self, relationships with others, communities and societies.