The Alchemical Cabinet of desires, 2017, installation, MNAC (National Museum of Contemporary Art), Lisbon
The alchemical cabinet of desires, is an art project inspired by the ancient tradition of alchemy and dreams. Both were interpreted as processes that facilitate spiritual transformation and the profound integration of the body and the soul. The project was inspired by my own personal journey with dreams and spiritual journey, and research around alchemy, as investigated by psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
The project is the result of a 2 year investigation. In it I was able to weave my investigations of the inner world, with art practice. This led me to developed a very personal method of spiritual practice which included a dream diary using collage, drawing as meditation and bibliographic research about Carl Jung.
Exhibited at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, part of the exhibition "Gender in Art" its final result includes an alchemical cabinet, a dream diary, a collage dream-journal and drawing-herbarium, inspired by my dreams done through mixed media (collage, herbarium and drawing), and a series of 36 drawings illustrating the 10 phases of alchemical transformation.
During the 40ties and then throughout his life, Carl Jung researched alchemical treatises, particularly the Rosarium Philosophorum, written in 1550. In various of his books, Jung described how alchemy’s investigation on how to transform stone into gold ( lapis philosophorum, or the philosophers stone) should be interpreted not only as a physical quest ( which originated chemistry, as we know it today) but also as a process for profound spiritual transformation.