OUROBOROS

THE OUROBOROS

With 2016 now concluded and the beginning of a new year I felt it is a relevant time to post a design I have been working on as it reflects the ideas of renewal and change that are associated with this time of year.

VISION:

After turning 25 earlier this year I began doing a lot of reflecting on where I am now and evaluating where I want to be in the future; not only as an individual but as an artist and designer. Questions we have all asked ourselves I’m sure. I felt that I wanted to create a design that resonated with myself and held a deeper symbolic meaning.  

It is rare that I take the time to create a design exclusively for myself and was unsure where to begin. I often start with some subject matter: an animal, an object or theme. I took a look at some of my work and noticed that throughout my drawings snakes often appear. Ironically enough around this time I was having vivid dreams that featured snakes so I used this as a starting point.

PROCESS:

My research led me to an ancient symbol called "Ouroboros".

The Ouroboros is one of oldest mythical ancient symbols of a serpent / snake / dragon eating its own tail. The Greek word 'Ouroboros' translates roughly to 'tail devouring'.

It began in Egyptian iconography and mythology; it has been used Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Alchemy as a prominent symbol. The Ouroboros is seen as a symbol of the cyclic nature of the universe: creation out of destruction, Life out of death. It shows the concept of duality. It represents the idea of something constantly re-creating itself, often associated in alchemy with the phrase 'one is all'.

Continuing my research it led me to the idea of trinity. I also began exploring eastern religions and Dharma in relation to modern science and I chose to use three snakes to symbolise the idea of matter (body), energy (mind) and vitergy (soul) and how they are interwoven and at the centre (sankhara) is the fabric of reality and the creation of life itself.

I began thumbnails and combined the various ideas until I had solid sketch laid out.

I then took this design into Adobe Illustrator and began vectoring the image. In all honesty the creation of this image was a lot of trial and error. I found it difficult to get the overlapping and the spacing of the graphics accurate creating the three equal interwoven snakes. To complete the design I altered the tails to a brush, a pencil and an ink pen as these are the creative tools I primarily work with and adding to the creative theme. At the centre I placed the VIZUAL PIRATE logo.

This design stands as a beginning and an end. It symbolises the process of change and renewal, graphically displaying the cyclical nature of the universe. It holds a profound significance for me and it quietly reminds me that we are our own universe in constant cycle. One that eliminates former practices and ideas to cultivate new ways of thinking and creating. It is with this idea of growth and renewal that I look forward to a productive, creative and brilliant year ahead for VIZUAL PIRATE.