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| The Messenger, 18" x 24", acrylic on canvas panel, 2016 |
There are a number of symbols and references in my painting of Jimi Hendrix. The numbers 6 and 9 represent Jimi's song, "If 6 was 9". The flaming heart is a reference to "the sacred heart of Jesus" which can be found on many pictures portraying Jesus. I certainly am not equating Jimi Hendrix with Jesus, but I DO believe he was a spiritual messenger, which is why this painting is titled "The Messenger".
This whole picture is influenced by Orthodox icon paintings of Christ and other religious figures, in terms of the composition, and also some of the design elements such as the halo, flaming heart, and the other symbols. Speaking of which, the symbols in the red and blue triangles represent the letters A and O, a reference to Alpha and Omega (sometimes used in Christian symbology); the symbols here are from the alphabet known as Enochian script. I wanted to keep this from being really obvious, and the Enochian script symbols make it more enigmatic which I like.
The flaming heart represents the message of love, the power of soul (coming from Jimi's lyrics). The eye in the triangle is NOT about the Illuminati; rather, it is "The Eye of Providence", or the eye of God. Jimi is wearing a yin/yang pendant, and has a tattoo of the Egyptian Ankh on his chest; both are to represent the universality of his message.
Observant viewers have also noted the small, somewhat demonic-looking face at the top of his hair. Honestly, I do not have a specific meaning for this; it basically appeared on its own during the process of doing the initial sketches for this painting, so there is no specific intent for this. That said, to me it would perhaps represent the intensity and ferociousness of his playing, particularly his solos on songs like "Voodoo Chile", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", and "Machine Gun", among others. At his best, as in these examples, Jimi is in my opinion channeling higher cosmic forces coming from somewhere not of this earth. In the words of one of my friends:
"Jimi was a messenger of Peace from Another Dimension. He spoke through his instrument in a language unheard of."
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