Haroon Mirza, Ogdoad iV - Terence McKenna, 2023

2023

Medium

Photovoltaic cells, copper tape, polyurethane resin, LED, laser jet print and gold leaf on acetate, wire, aluminum tape on glass, and Solar Cell Glass Work

Dimensions

62 × 62 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-156215

In the series of works "ogdoad" Haroon Mirza combines ritual and engineering by taking up patterns and forms of mandalas and combining them with technoid elements such as solar cells, copper tape and LED behind glass, thus bringing together references between technology, nature and consciousness. The title refers to Egyptian mythology in which "Ogdoad" describes eight deities consisting of four female and four male persons and whose polytheistic thoughts interest Mirza in the context of his preoccupation with energy and power: "Because in all of life and in the universe, ultimate power doesn't come from just one source, it's a combination of two or more things. Philosophically this is interesting, because this negates monotheism". The shape of the eight-pointed star results from the composition and combination of the solar cells - as a religious sign, the star has had a cultural presence from ancient times to the present in a wide variety of contexts and often symbolizes transcendence. In the center, Terence McKenna, an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and wrote about the theoretical origins of human consciousness in this context.