THE ANIMA SEQUENCE

anima-, anim- +

(Latin: animal life, a living being, living; breath; soul; mind)

Anima-, refers to “a living being” from a Latin form meaning, “of air, having a spirit, living”, which in turn comes from another form meaning, “breath of air, air, soul, life”.

The ANIMA SEQUENCE is a series of very large, mythic images that symbolize the spirit of life, or anima, in the often etherial and abstract forms of veiled women rising from earth and air. These elongated, often stark, gesturing figures have a quality of line that suggests a single brush stroke could have made them. In imagining this series, I was inspired by the many animist cultures I have known over the years and their understanding of the creative feminine aspect

of Nature.

The Animia Sequence is rhythmic and seems to move and sway, when your eye travels across the series. This sense of movement and gesture; of flow, symbolizes the ways in which Nature is spontaneously creative; Nature has only to laugh to create.

I use the force of wind in shaping the figures I photograph. Its influence on the feminine shapes represents the breath that animates the forms of life. The reflected image in the mirror represents awareness and our interconnectedness to understanding the world as anima. The belief in the soul of nature and the world, is at the core of animist culture, which is the origin of all belief in something greater than ourselves. Animists see the earth and everything in it, as alive.

To fully experience this body of work, it is intended as a museum installation, ideally shown in a circular formation (acknowledging the feminine principle). This way, the viewer stands in the center of the circle to see and engage the sequence.

The Anima Sequence is made up of 20 digital pigment prints on rag. They are 47 x 77 inches framed. Five of the 20 in the sequence are finished and framed.

Anima #10

Elisabeth Sunday