Exhibit Ten: Acquired by the Dream Gallery 28 January 1999
'Crucifuct'~ kindly donated by the artist,
Jason Lynch. View other samples of his work here
Feeling
The Picture
Your feeling reactions to a dream are keys to its interpretation. These are my feelings. If this were a scene in your dream or life, how would you feel about being there?
It surprises me that no matter how many times I
look at this picture I see the yellow 'halo' first, even though I realise the red lips are
meant for impact and the 'halo' is probably not a halo, in the artist's mind, but a pair
of yellow lips. Or are they? Then my mind gets drawn into wondering why Jason, the artist,
put the yellow ellipse there and what he intended it to be, and how amazing it is that we
all see different things in simple shapes. Then I have to look at the red lips, and, more
specifically, at the nails and pins in the lips and the blood dripping from the wound - or
is it food drooling through a wounded and impaled mouth? Once I've settled into the
picture I can see that I feel so horrified by the sacrificed lips and their garish barred
teeth that it is protective distraction that focuses my eyes on the yellow ellipse, and a
search for something beautiful to balance the painful central image that converts the
ellipse into a halo. I am drawn to overcome the mutilation in the foreground by finding
beauty behind it all (in the background). Later still the comical hands and the discarded
lipstick bring in the humour and my concerns for the lips pierced to the cross evaporate
and are replaced by feeling the funny side of fashion/identity statements. So balance is
restored and I am at peace with the picture - til the next time! I guess, in simplistic
terms, this is indeed my outlook on life.
The Symbols
Symbols in your dreams often relate to your personal memories and associations, so always consider those first. Then let your mind play with other, more general possibilities. They will not all apply! Just open your mind and notice where the symbol seems to fit and make sense of the rest of your dream.
As soon as I typed 'ellipse' (in Feeling the
Picture, above) my conscious mind caught up with the pun: eeLIPS. Dream scenes
frequently reinforce statements through resonating symbolism, so if this were a dream I'd
probably jump straight onto the lips theme. Lips are the outwardly expressive part of the
mouth and perhaps the most sensitive too. They would therefore symbolise the outwardly
expressive yet most sensitive aspect of the dreamer.
The second resonating symbolism, for me, is the
'halo' and the cross, though it's probable that seeing the cross helped convert the yellow
ellipse into a halo.
A cross in a dream can vary in symbolism. Devout
Christians or dreamers whose paths have crossed (!) with Christianity will have their own
personal symbolism for a sacrificial cross. Crosses can also come up in dreams as visual
puns on being cross, or for crossing (coming up against) something. Clearly in this image
of the lips being nailed to the cross the interpretation is sacrifice.
There are four nails, four 'arms' to the cross
and four fingers on each hand (three fingers and a thumb?). How interesting that nails are
also found on fingers on hands which are on arms .... There are connections here. Nails on
fingers protect the delicate fingertips with all their nerve sensitivities for touching,
feeling and sensing from being injured or hurt. Do the nails on the mouth (alias the studs
in piercing) offer the dreamer/pierced-one protection from his or her sensitivity? Four
can symbolise practicality in a dream, or 'straight-line thinking' (four corners to a
square?) rather than fluid or more creative (more expressive?) thinking.
Mouths in dreams can symbolise our communication
(talking, smiling, grimacing) ... especially when there is no focus on eating or drinking.
Teeth can represent our core beliefs (spiritual?) since they are often found still
attached to the bony skeleton long after the rest of the body has decayed. In this way the
symbolism is that the skeleton and teeth are our core beliefs upon which everything else
is hung. It is interesting then that this picture shows such glorious teeth: are the
dreamer's core beliefs all about self sacrifice? Sacrificing true communication and
sensitivity, perhaps, by hardening the image of soft sensitivity with little nail crosses?
What is the dreamer so cross about that he or she cannot express and instead must don
armour?
And what is the big joke, the comical element? Is
the dreamer a joker, using comedy as another cover up for not being able to communicate
true feelings?
Yet it's also important to notice the lipstick at
the base of the picture. It symbolises what is at the 'base' of all of this. I'll leave
this one for you to work out!
The Questions
Here are some questions the dreamer of such a dream picture might ask to work towards a complete understanding of the dream.
Try these yourself: just give your 'gut reaction' answers to the questions - your answers will surprise you in the insights they deliver. The key thing to remember is, "Don't THINK about your answers - give quick gut reaction replies". Your unconscious will deliver.
If this process can work powerfully for this image, consider how infinitely more powerful the insights are when the image comes from one of your own dreams - direct from your unconscious!
* What are the red lips doing: smiling, grimacing .. or .?
* What kind of person wears red lipstick?
* If YOU wear red lipstick:
# When do you wear red lipstick? How do you feel wearing it?
# How do you feel when you're NOT wearing it?
* What does FOUR mean to you? What comes in fours in your life at the moment?
* How does the cross in this picture make you feel?
* What current life situation does this remind you of?
* Is there a situation in your life right now where you feel 'pinned down'? Does this make
you feel cross? Do you feel martyred?
* If the yellow ellipse could talk, what would it be saying?
* Do you feel there is something you'd like to say, but you're steeling (?nailing?)
yourself against it?
* Do you make fun of yourself and your situation?
* How could you convert this humourous slant into a deeper expression of your true self?
* What would you have to do to get yourself out of a 'pinned down' situation and into a
more freely expressive one?
'Crucifuct' ~ kindly donated by the artist,
Jason Lynch. View other samples of his work here
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