Fire/Water & Earth/Air
ARTIST
Anthony Nelson (Anawason) is a visual artist originally from the Camp Morton area, North of Gimli, now based in Chatfield, Manitoba. Nelson draws inspiration from the natural world, Mysticism, Dadaism, and Maximalism to produce highly saturated and rich work, both aesthetically and symbolically.
LOCATION
Gimli Public Library
65 1 Ave.
Gimli, Manitoba
ABOUT / ARTIST STATEMENT
Humans have historically sought to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. This distillation has always been present in my own work as I strive to understand archetype and symbolism in nature. In Ancient Greece, Egypt, Persia, Babylonia, Japan, Tibet, and India matter was conceived as being comprised of four elements, air, water, earth and fire. It is this work’s intent to represent these elements and through their interactions, express core human drives for love and wisdom.
Love is represented in the rainbow, as it is caused by sunlight internally reflected by the backs of falling raindrops. Its spectrum and beauty is a direct result of these two forces uniting. Air symbolizes the unseen, the unknowable, and the moon as the mediator, as it has a direct effect on the earth, making the unseen visible. The lemniscate represents this eternal bond, a synchronistic storyline of the material and the wisdom of the immaterial.