SACRED EARTH
SPIRITS IN THE LAND
EXHIBITION IS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT
Three fragile landscapes reflecting ecological concerns
encouraging us to resensitise to wild landscape in the form of art and poetry.
Iceland, Spain, Scotland
The artist's odyssey across three fragile landscape of water, trees and rocks. Fiona McIntyre's personal journeying across Iceland, Spain and Scotland resulted in this poem inspired by the geology, prehistory, migration and pigments of these wild landscapes currently under threat from glacial melting, desertification and deforestation. Each verse of the poem Sacred Earth is read in the original languages of Icelandic, Galego and Gaelic to echo the physicality of place. Our early ancestors used pigments to draw metaphors on caves and stones and this evolved into written language which took its sounds and nuance from our close interaction with the natural environment. The artist is also developing a body of artwork made with mineral pigments and foraged organic materials leading to an exhibition ‘Sacred Earth: Spirits Of The Land’ for the future. The English version of the poem can be found at the bottom of this page.
Icelandic glacier - natural pigments vivianite, malachite, bone black and silver leaf on gesso boards
Galician Petroglyphs - natural lump pigments ochre, vivianite, earth green, bone black in oil on paper
Scottish trees and Neolithic burial sites - natural pigments malachite, vivianite, bone black, ochre, green earth in oil on gesso board and paper
“Modern humanity has forgotten the respect and sacredness with which we once held our planet in. I am inspired by the ancient wisdom of our shared ancestors who existed in parallel worlds of understanding - they were profoundly in touch with the cycle of birth, life, death and reincarnation. I see my artistic journey as a sacred walk from our shared past forward into a positive collective future”.
Fiona McIntyre
SACRED EARTH
AN ODYSSEY ACROSS THREE FRAGILE LANDSCAPES
Iceland, Spain, Scotland
Water, Rocks, Trees
ICELAND
And I remember a wasteland of extremes
Scabby geysers erupting from sulphurous flesh
And I remember obstinately confronting the tempest
And squalls of unspoken words dissipating into air
I remember when darkness was cataleptic
Stifling paralysis all pervading
When words ceased to have meaning
And language was rendered void
I remember reaching out to touch a mountain
And standing on the map of Iceland
Millions of droplets of melted ice
And forked ribbons of glacial silver
I remember a startling clarity of vision
And an iced volcano hovering on the sea
Vivid slates of sky reflected in water
And steel ships steaming in the cold
I remember laughter, dancing and song
And the fiery madness of Thorablod
I remember the dispassionate belief of a white bear
And watching its ascent
I remember when words ceased to have meaning
And longing to be understood
SPAIN, GALICIA
And I remember fields of sand
Relics of memory strewn wide across the beach
I remember walking arm in arm with the sea
And waves of unspoken words dissolving in spray
I remember when darkness ceased to be fearful
And became palpable and radiant
When clumsy thought transmuted
And rose above the ordinary
I remember touching the shipwrecked shore
And standing on the map of Galicia
A metamorphosis of unfolding history
And rhyming stones divining the breeze
I remember a blinding white epiphany
And incense cutting through the listless air
Legends and song shared on a broad terrace
And being cleansed with drinks of fire
I remember the madness of Rapa das Bestas
And the paroxysm of wild emotion
I remember a fettered mare straining for release
And watching its liberation
I remember when language could find no words
And longing to be understood
SCOTLAND
And I remember a vision from long ago
Ancient mountains of great beauty
And I remember walking with the breeze
Streams of words gliding on its currents
I remember when darkness was mysterious
A mantle of pregnant meaning
When words were rich and varied
And language had no bonds
I remember exploring fresh-water snails
And lying on the body of Scotland
Fresh green star moss
And burns gurgling through forests
I remember the drowsy warmth of summer
And smouldering sun rising from water
The smell of smoke from beach fires
And beds of pebbles
I remember the passion of piobaireachd
And the fraternity of ceilidh
I remember breathing ancestral dust
And the feeling of belonging
I remember when words were rich and varied
And language had no bonds
TRANSLATIONS
ICELANDIC
Och ég man eyðiland andstæðna
Hrjóstrugir hverir gjósandi úr brennisteinskenndu holdi
Og ég man þrjóskulega mætandi freistingunni
Og óhljóð otaldadra orda dreyfast ut í tómið
Ég man þegar myrkrið var svefnsjúkt
Ðrúgandi lömun réði ríkjumð
Ðegar orð misstu þýðingu sína
Og tungumál ekki lengur gilt
Ég man löngun til að snerta fjall
Og standandi á landakorti Íslands
Milljón dropar af bræddum ís
Og flæktir borðar af silfri jökuláa
Ég man furðu tæran sjóndeildarhring
Og jökulhulið eldfjall fljótandi á hafinu
Himnamósaík endurspeglast í vatninu
Og stálskip rjúkandi í kuldanum
Ég man hlátur dans og söng
Og eldheitt brjálæði þorrablóts
Ég man stillilegt álit hvítabjarnar
Og horfandi á hann rísa
Ég man orðin missa þýðingu sína
Og löngun þess að vera skilin
GALEGO
E eu recordo campos de area
Reliquias da memoria esparexida pola praia
Eu recordo camiñar do brazo co mar
E as ondas de palabras non faladas disolvéndose no esprai.
Eu recordo cando a escuridade deixou de ter medo
E tornouse palpable e radiante
Cando o pensamento torpe transmutou
E levantouse por enriba do común
Eu recordo tocar a beira naufragada
E de pé no mapa de Galicia
A metamorfose da historia en desenvolvemento
E pedras que riman adiviñando a brisa
Eu recordo unha epifanía branca cegadora
E o incenso cortando a través do aire lánguido
Lendas e cancións compartidas nunha ampla terraza
E sendo purificada con bebidas de lume
Eu recordo a tolemia da Rapa das Bestas
E o paroxismo da emoción salvaxe
Eu recordo a egua encadeada esforzándose por liberarse
E observar a súa liberación
Eu recordo cando a linguaxe non atopaba palabras
E desexando ser comprendidas
GAELIC