Laigán Áine

Title: Laigán Áine
Medium: Emulsion on board

Started in March, finished and framed in July. I was inspired by the photography of @compositionsbyciaran he captured such a layered view of the Mourne mountains.
I am constantly fascinated by the history of Ireland and I took a visit to national museum of Ireland just to see the ancient native gold-work, rock engravings and bog bodies. The level of detail and craftsmanship in the objects was not made by the simple pre Bronze Age mind, in my opinion these were artists more connected to the stars and the minerals of the earth than any age since.

I painted the Laigán Áine standing stones/portal tome, (castlewellan) no one really knows exactly what they were used for but in Korea many similar structures exist, with the top stone inscribed with a map of the stars, which would fulfill a purpose as a celestial clock for understanding the change of the seasons, allowing the local people to know when to plant, harvest, travel…
In Ireland we have hundreds I plan to visit them all, many have not been excavated … but most have a burial site nearby, hoards of gold and bronze jewellery and weapons have been buried, the land itself has kept the secrets of the universe, preserved them
Named lagan Áine after the mythological Irish goddess of love, fertility, summer, and sovereignty. She is connected with the land, the sun and the cycles of life. The Devine feminine power remains unbroken by time, war, or famine.