ByJocelyn Chaplin
With Valentine’s day looming, and the shops already full of expensive hearts, our minds are encouraged to contemplate love. The first painting (Being Connected) shows the personal aspect still embedded in the earth and in the rhythms of nature. The second (Yearning for the Moon) shows the longing to become whole like the sphere of…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
This Double Helix represents the DNA that is in ALL living things, so feels like a fitting symbol for a left wing equalising spirituality. During the 2004 Greek Olympics the double helix stood high and proud at the end where a cross or flag might once have been. This was my inspiration. The other picture…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
Equalia as the Maltese goddess sits in the middle of the Mediterranean. In these 2 versions of the painting I try to convey, both the terror of the refugees crossing over the sea to Europe, and a sense of protection. She has always been there, hidden and forgotten, both a presence and an absence to…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
In this year commemorating the 500th anniversary of Thomas Moore’s book ‘Utopia’, the very concept can seem hopelessly idealistic. Yet in the most surprising corner of the world the dreams of an anarchist social ecologist called Murray Bookchin (1921-2006) are being put into practice. In Northern Syria 3 Kurdish held cantons (Rojava) are working with…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
This recent painting shows the many layers and dimensions in which Equalia dances. I ‘channelled’ the name Equalia when in deep meditation a couple of years ago. Then of course I Googled it and found that it was the name of a fantasy island in the Simpsons TV show. All the citizens were equal but…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I am going back in time to introduce you further to Equalia. Holy Grail – France 2014 I am writing on the day of a powerful full moon where ‘she’ is showing herself especially close to the earth, honest and naked. It’s a time when all those hidden potentials, but fears and hates too, come…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I want to relate the history of Equalia – so here goes. A few years ago I came back from Crete to find everyone talking about Russell Brand. The leftish New Statesman had him editing a special issue. While many reactions focused on his unwillingness to vote, it was the bringing together of spirituality and…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I recently spent 3 weeks in the Isle of Man with my brother who lives there. It’s a place full of fairies and mysteries, a place that feels deeply spiritual, whatever that word means. Today a variety of religious groups from evangelical Christians to Pagan fundamentalists use its ‘energies’ for worship. But many more just…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I made this painting at a silent retreat in Wales. The Tymawr Convent is in the background, in front of the primeval Trelech ridge above the Wye Valley. In the middle is the path we walked each day past fields of grass to join the nuns. On the left is the goddess Demeter and on…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
She is returning to the people as a symbol of powerful feminine energy. I went to a wonderful talk by Caroline Wise about Elen of the Ways at Steiner House in London. She has researched this figure in history and mythology for over 20 years. I have been painting her for nearly as long. I…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I watched with horror day after day as the equalising Arab Spring turned into a whole range of unforeseen results, I think a lot about religion v. spirituality and religion v. secularism. Occupation of public space in a peaceful way can be seen as a kind of spiritual act in itself, especially when dedicated to…
ByJocelyn Chaplin
I was talking to a friend about the way so many of us are on journeys or paths that are in some way moving towards greater equality. Liberals and progressives have always hoped for this. Yet more and more of us are disillusioned by world events and initial hope turns easily to despair. I used…