Hana Shahnavaz
In this piece, entitled 'Reconnecting', the core of my tree - its trunk and branches - have been painted by a pigment I have made from a 145 million-year-old petrified tree of the late Jurassic Era. Each bunch of flowers has been painted with pigments from different world sources, to signify all different energies being held together by this one ancient pigment. All the many separate journeys are, in fact, part of one deeper collective journey. We are all part of the same Whole.
Connection requires not just the head, but also the hand and the heart. The Earth is a vital conduit in this process. She helps us ground ourselves, and teaches subtle lessons that help turn the abstract into tangible concepts. As we engage with the Earth, we take part in the process of creation, which is in fact, the actual shaping of our futures in any direction we choose. As we reconnect with her, she also plants a seed within us, which binds us to one another and to her. The more we work with and protect her, the more she then connects us together.