Symbolism: The Mandala

Contemplation SeriesSymbolism

Feb 7

Written By Anntidote

In the creation of a mandala, I am embarking on a journey along a path.

That path could be one seeking calm and healing from chaos.

Or one grasping for understanding and wisdom.

Or both!

I never know until I am on it.

The process takes days, even months, depending on life’s meddling with the process. But if one keeps showing up and doing the work, then at the end, you’ll embrace a new achievement of great beauty from your soul’s work.

While creating a mandala, my mind is free to explore many questions and curiosities wandering in the back of my mind…

*Title: Secret Garden*
*Date: November, 2021*
*Medium: Acrylic on Canvas*

*Working on ‘Secret Garden’ in my little bedroom, in my father’s home in Puchong, Malaysia.*
*Covid cases were still rampant and Malaysia was still doing lockdowns frequently to prevent the overflow of patients in the hospitals.*

For the ‘Contemplation' series, I adorned each character with a mandala headdress to symbolize the character's development towards some form of enlightenment.

*Title: In Contemplation [D7] - mini series*

Each one’s crown of experience is different from the next, much like a thumbprint.

It signifies that each of us have different, and maybe similar, rings of sacred truths which we have uncovered in our contemplative wanderings.

Truths that we have come to realize makes us who we are as individuals. And side by side, as a community, we create a lush kaleidoscopic landscape of experiences.