Helene Black: 1996 :: Ichthys

Nicosia Municipal Centre of the Arts (Power House), Cyprus
Group show
Curated by Yiannis Toumazis

Artist’s Research
Some thoughts relevant to the content of the work (compiled by the artist)

…fishes or creatures of the sea…[mean] the affections and consequent thoughts of those men who are principled in general truths, and therefore more attracted by what is natural…
Emanuel Swedenborg (1689-1772)

FISH

1. The fish is one of the oldest symbols of Christ

NET

1. A symbol of extensive interconnectedness
2. In the New Testament, the net appears as a symbol of the workings of God

FISH CAUGHT IN NET

1. A net with fish is a symbol of the Church and its symbolic gathering of believers
2. According to depth philosophy, fish in a net can also be a manifestation of an active discourse with the subconscious
3. Symbol of facts collected through the apparatus of the senses

GLASS

1. The clarity and transparency of glass becomes a symbol of truth on a higher mental plane

SILVER

1. Historically this metal is a symbol of the mental quality of the power of speech and represents the ‘natural man’ at his/her best

THE NUMBER THREE (SILVER FISH)

1. The Holy Trinity
2. The 3 virtues of faith, love and hope
3. For Hegel, this number was the principle of dialectical progress, (thesis, antithesis, synthesis)

THE NUMBER FOUR

1. Symbolically this number is significant of system and order. There are to be found in the universe and soul many arrangements in sets of four
2. As a symbolic number, 4 is closely related to the square and the circle. It is the number of the four cardinal directions, the four elements, the four Evangelists and the four stages of life

THE NUMBER SIXTEEN

1. This number is symbolic of completeness and perfection

STEEL NETTING

1. A pun referring to the environmental abuse of drift net fishing but also to contemporary man whereby Net Surfing is a new way of fishing for truth and knowledge Steel Netting for me, is an artwork which encompasses universal, traditional symbols and content important in our past, and translated within the context of contemporary media and realities, gains a specific relevance in regard to our future.
   Beyond all this and hopefully, the artwork itself is intended to transform knowledge and content into an object of experience.