EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS IN THE FIELD OF ART
12 DAYS 12 NIGHTS / JERUSALEM
DAY 1: 31 AUGUST 1994
THE CAPTURE OF THE MAN-EATING MARES
RIDING THE WHITE DONKEY
Fig leaf, mezuzah, bird's feather, straw, sand, mixed media on canvas
80 x 40" (200 x 100 cm)
MYTHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Hercules succeeded in capturing the man-eating mares rather quickly. Filled with pride at his rapid success, he left the captured horses to his friend Abderis. But Abderis was not strong enough to hold them. They trampled him to death and escaped. Thus, it became necessary for Hercules to capture the mares once again.
DAILY DIARY
The mezuzah is affixed to the doorpost of Jewish homes. The original meaning of the word "mezuzah" is "doorpost". The symbol goes back to the words of the Bible (5th Book of Moses, Chapter 6, 4-9 and 18-20). This Bible passage is written on a piece of parchment in Hebrew and placed in a scroll which is affixed to the doorpost, slanting inwards toward the door.
The title "Riding the white donkey" in connection with the gate depicted here goes back to the Jewish belief of the coming of the Messiah. One of the seven gates of Jerusalem is the "Golden Gate", also known as the "Closed Gate". It is supposed to open when the Messiah approaches Jerusalem on the back of a white donkey.
Bernd Fasching painted a gate and fixed a mezuzah to the painting. It is through this gate that we can find our inner being.
During the discussions with Fasching, one came to discover that the "Closed Gate" is in fact always open when a person succeeds to find the entrance to his/herself.