7 feet tall, 3-sided, covered with intricate paintings and lit from within - The Celestial Goddesses Obelisk is truly unlike anything you've seen before. The Obelisk made its debut at the Burning Man festival in September 2004, to enthusiastic appreciation and acclaim.

Each side of the Obleisk represents a celestial entity - Sun, Moon and Stars. Each themed panel overflows with an abundance of associations related to its patron cosmic concept, anchored by a central goddess figure. Ancient traditions share space with pop culture references, fiction and legend meld with science and fact, cultures and art styles from all over the globe are represented and the vast influence that these celestial entities have had on human life, thought, culture and art are vividly brought into focus in this ambitious piece.

Moon Side

Central Moon goddess is the pan-European pagan triple goddess; Maiden, Mother and Crone

Central Star goddess is the Hindu Star/Wisdom goddess Tara

Star Side

Sun Side

Central Sun goddess is the Japanese Sun/Mother goddess Ameratsu

The Obelisk illuminates its sacred space at Center Camp Cafe, Burning Man 2004

A circle of benches occupied by mesmerized comtemplators surrounds the Obelisk.

The pyramidal apex cap is lit from within by a color-changing LED bulb. As it cycles through the colors of the spectrum, the iconic symbols seem to pulse - a visual effect that was not anticipated, but very happily accepted!

I'm actually not sure where the intial inspiration for this project came from - it seemed to spring fully formed from my brain and I started sketching and pondering and planning. After many years of battling self-doubt and struggling with completing overly-ambitious projects, I knew this one could and would BE. With the help of creative collaborator Christian Colquhoun, I made it a reality.

This piece represents over 6 months of conceptualizing, building, researching and painting. I came up with the idea and design, helped build it, painted it and did the "light etching" that creates the glowing effects within the paintings. Christian engineered and built the structure and did all the wiring and lighting effects. He was the one who came up with the internal illumination concept and pioneered the light etching technique.

The Celestial Goddesses Obelisk is the first of what I've dubbed "illuminated structural paintings".

I would consider selling the Obelisk for the right price, but be aware that it is a large piece that must be carefully transported and assembled. It has 6 bulbs and plugs into a single standard electrical socket. It is sealed with an acrylic finish, but I would not reccommend extended outdoor display. Also be aware that this piece has made the journey to Burning Man and back, was exposed to the Playa elements there, and was also displayed outdoors at the Los Angeles Decompression event, where it endured a bit of rain. It has been touched up, but it is indellibly marked by these experiences with dust and scratches. I consider these to be a part of the piece - a record of it's experience and evolution. If you are interested in aquiring the Obelisk, please contact me.

 

All artwork © 2003 Cristina McAllister and Flying Lion Artwerks, all rights reserved.