THE SECRET + TOMBS - tour poster illustration

An illustration commissioned for use on the upcoming European tour for Italian band The Secret and NY's Tombs. I wanted to create an image that recognised both bands existing imagery and subject matter whilst setting it in a new context. The solar and lunar symbols here reference both bands recent releases, overt in the case of The Secret ('Solve Et Coagula' LP) and subtle in the case of Tomb's (their upcoming album 'Path Of Totality' is the name given to the shadow cast by the Moon during a solar eclipse). The solar symbol in this case is Sol Niger, the "black sun" of the alchemical process.

The final composition took these ideas and placed it within the related realm of early Gnosticism.

"The Mother Of Dark Light" in this case is Sophia, the feminine aspect of the divine who in error gives birth to the material, visible universe we inhabit and are currently trapped.

The Secret and Tombs European tour starts 26th July 2011.

www.myspace.com/thesecret
www.myspace.com/tombsbklyn

BACCHUS - album art

 

For the latest Bacchus release I decided to draw from the deep well of legend and folklore associated with the bands - and my own - native soil of Ireland. Beyond the romantic veneer of "Celtic" heritage that is often hijacked and regurgitated for export within popular culture, there are darker and stronger currents that run beneath our feet.

The front cover is a depiction of the Cailleach - an archetypal winter goddess in Gaelic culture, and a manifestation of the Crone archetype most commonly associated with themes of death and decay. The Cailleach is said to possess only one eye, a common feature of many divine figures. She is said to herd deer, which are also sacred to her. She is associated with stone and mountain, and in many respects is a personification of the dark, long winters endured by our ancestors in which survival was not assured.

Winter yields to Spring and Summer of course, yet the Cailleach must also be appeased during these times. The rear illustration, a ritual "crown" comprised of antlers and tied with wheat stalks, is a creative derivation of the "corn hags" that were created and cared for by a member of the community during the agricultural year; a ritualistic act of folk magick by means of respect. In this the crone is a constant reminder of the cycles of nature to which we are all subject, and have perhaps forgotten to appease...

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