XgeronimoWRKS

XGERONIMOWRKS Paintings and drawings by Sergei Ivanov (aka Xgeronimo) 2012-2015

CONTENTS

1. Thesis and Artist Statement 2. Metaphysical concept of structuring Chaos 3. Symbolism 4. Blue Invocations (works on paper) 2. Mental Maps of Distant Places (works on table cloth fabric) 3. Night Drawings (works on paper) 4. Gifts of Apophenia (works on stretched canvas) 5. Back to the caves (installation) 6. Black Moon (perfomance) 7. Chodex Chaos (book)

THESIS 1. The first Artist was a shaman and the first Art was manifested as an abstract form, i.e. the oldest artistic imagery are entoptic forms and abstract geometrical patterns, found in the early Paleolithic caves.

2. The first Art was a by-product of a psychedelic shamanic trance, i.e. art was invented as a medium to communicate experience that had no reference in the usual physical world.

3. Art and the occult practices appeared on the earth at the same time and they complement each other, i.e. the early Paleolithic cave paintings featuring hunting scenes were painted by shamans prior to the actual hunting trips to ensure a favorable outcome for the expeditions. The early shamanic artists used principles of imitative magick - that 'like produces like’ or that an effect resembles its cause.

4. The original purpose of Art was to represent and objectify the invisible reality, i.e. similarity and consistency of abstract imagery in different prehistoric sites across the world.

ARTIST STATEMENT Art begins where the design ends: precisely at the 'suspension of reasoning' point.

In my art making process I employ idiosyncratic methods of creating altered states of consciousness and use it as a tool for visual expression.

Conceptually, my painting process is similar to a shamanic ritual - it is based on involuntary and seemingly abstract physical gestures caused by a primal objective desire or thought.

METAPHYSICAL CONCEPT OF STRUCTURING CHAOS The first layer is a drawing and it is a mental expression of the original idea (the electric side).The second layer is a painting and represents the emotive expression of the idea (the magnetic side). Conceptually it is similar to the structure of an atom: the proton (positive charge) in the centre is ‘veiled’ by rotating around it electrons (negative charge).

SYMBOLISM The symbolic language I use functions like symbols used in algebra. It doesn’t matter which letters of the alphabet or even the alphabet itself you use to represent concepts. Only the meanings of the concepts and their relationships matter.

1. A colour represents the emotional energy (magnetic).

2 A form represents the mental energy (electric).

3. Gold represents the masculine and the rational Sun (desire).

4. Silver represents the feminine and the intuitive Moon (memory).

5. Black, white and red represent the Tria Prima: the base matter (Negredo), the omnipresent spirit of life (Albedo) and the fluid that connects them (Rubedo).

6. Yellow and pink represent the Air element and the planet Mercury.

7. Orange and red represent the Fire element and the planet Mars.

8. Blue and purple represent the Water element and the planet Venus.

9. Black, Olive, Green and Brown represent the Earth element the planet Saturn.

10. Backwards written words represent direct message to the ‘upside down’ or the 'mirrored’ world, aka the spiritual dimension 11. Corners of the painting represent the four cardinal directions of the 3-dimensional space, aka the East, the South, the West and the North as well as the 4 gateways to the elemental powers.

BLUE INVOCATIONS pen, coffee, golden tempera and house paint on paper 2015

MENTAL MAPS OF DISTANT PLACES Painting on the reverse side of a synthetic table cloth 2015

Hello Mojo 100 x 140 cm

King Of Wands 140 x 224 cm

Rotas 100 x 140 cm

Sator 100 x 140 cm

Metanoia 100 x 140 cm

MMDP 1103 100 x 140 cm

MMDP 21 100 x 140 cm

12:21 100 x 140 cm

Sun In Taurus 100 x 140 cm

Elves get it during the 30th Moon 140 x 250 cm

NIGHT DRAWINGS Works on paper, 2012 - 2015

GIFTS OF APOPHENIA Works on stretched canvas 2015

GameChanger 901 90 x 130 x 3 cm

GameChanger 109 90 x 130 x 3 cm

MojoXL 104 x 140 x 3 cm

MojoXL 2 100 x 140 x 2.5 cm

Palo Santo 100 x 140 x 3 cm

Kings & Queens 120 x 190 x 4 cm

Untitled 110 x 135 x 4 cm

Gnosis 100 x 140 x 2 cm

BACK TO THE CAVES Installation of paintings in an underground car park 2015

BLACK MOON Perfomance ritual with "Elves get it on the 30th Moon" painting.

August 2015

CODEX CHAOS: ART, MAGICK & THE OCCULT NATURE OF REALITY A book project published at Lulupress, 2015

FURTHER REFERENCES http://mironmihei.tumblr.com http://xgeronimo.tumblr.com https://www.facebook.com/xgeronimowrks https://theartstack.com/artists/xgeronimo