THE EXHIBITIONS

from the daytime world, but also curious beings that are not found in the physical world - who would have thought that the alchemists' green lion really existed? Or the unicorn? The first time I met a unicorn was in a dream in 1987. We were in a library and it wanted my attention. I may have been knowledgeable of differential and integral calculus, cost accounting, and such things, but I definitely knew nothing of mythology and legends. It was many years after this that I became aware of the fact that others, since time immemorial, had also observed this creature, that it was called 'unicorn', and that it was associated with certain behaviors. It was a spectacular insight that this being's behavior in my dream matched that of ancient times. Just as I have my clearly defined personality, one might say that so does the unicorn, independent of whose dream it appears in. In other words, dreams convey important knowledge. That this could be true of the paintings in "Transformation" began to dawn upon me during the making of "Descent".

    When it comes to the relationship between a specific painting and dreams, I usually cannot directly associate a painting with specific dream symbols. But there are cases where this connection is of a more substantial nature. One example is painting No. 55. I did not dream of an angel and then the morning after sat down and painted the picture, or vice versa. However, quite a long time before the painting was made, I had this dream: I am close to a computer and there is irritation due the fact that so much work has been done, but in spite of this, a lot of work remains. Then suddenly, I find myself standing in the aisle of a cathedral, the light has changed, it is much darker. I look up and I see the arches that go far up, and it is so dark up there that I cannot see the roof. A white angel, high up, in the shape of a powerful male figure with large wings, is descending towards the floor. He is totally concentrated on the path going down. He has bent the upper part of his body slightly forward and he is looking straigh down. At the same time he has pulled up his legs slightly and lowered his hands so that they are in level with his feet, in order to prepare for the landing. When he reaches the floor in front of me, I turn around, and behind me I see a man with a sword, and further behind, an upset woman by a coffin. Since this, angels have appeared in my dreams and in my fantasies. When the painting was made, which, as I have pointed out, was some time after I had the dream, I did not as usual know what I was going to paint. As the work progressed, I suddenly realized that the subject I was treating was that of an angel descending. In a case like this, it is my experience that the dream does not necessarily appear before the painting that treats the same subject has been made. The only painting that has been made in direct connection to a dream is No. 9. The dream is as follows: I am escaping out of an industrial building, out on the backyard, whose exit I am running towards. When I arrive at the exit I float up in the air and start flying, and below me I see myself as a little boy on a pedal car. I come out in a billowing yellow landscape, and I fly close to the ground. It is a wonderful experience. When I woke up, I sat down with my brushes and painting knives and started painting, which by the way broke my habit of painting in the afternoons and evenings. But, as I pointed out, this dream/painting is an exception.

    I look upon dreams and my painting as expressions of something that cannot directly be observed. This something includes, among many things, the capacity for change, a process that I have painted with great detail. I am of the opinion that my painting and my observations of dreams are important tools to accomplish transformation, and by focusing my attention on and working with these expressions, an inner dialogue is created that I believe is a prerequisite for this process of change to occur. It is of great importance to realize that this does not center on logic understanding, even though the intellect has a role in this drama.

TRANSFORMATION - Part 6

(6) The Center.

    I associate the section "The Center" with newly acquired knowledge and deeper insight, which is already evident in the first painting in the series, No. 76. The painting points to the crucial discovery of the transformation process itself, as opposed to its manifestations, which have colored the prior paintings. One could say that consciousness has reached a higher level. This development should be seen in the light of the very powerful course of events. There are many aspects of this, what I am thinking of at this point is the fact that in a exaggerated state, it is easier to discern, the constituents have become easier to identify, and with this comes insight. This development commenced in "Descent", I am thinking of the appendix, but it is in "The Center" that this knowledge reaches the threshold of consciousness.

    This section is crowned with a knowledge of supreme importance with regard to the