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Undergraduate student Sigfried Echo Hemming created this painting in oils, inspired by Department for the Study of Religion (DSR) RLG366H class, “Hindu Philosophy,” led by Professor Arti Dhand, which includes studying the Upanisads, the ancient Sanskrit texts that form the foundation of Hindu philosophy. They include the concept of the universe being symbolized as a sacrificial horse, with the body representing aspects of existence – such as its sight being the sun and its limbs the seasons.
An accomplished musician and singer-songwriter, Hemming is a longtime visual artist whose exhibited work includes an animation display in New York’s Times Square. He is majoring in Environmental Ethics, with minors in Philosophy and Jewish Studies. His original ambition was to be a physicist, but a math learning disability ultimately prevented that. Wanting to stay involved in the natural sciences and with a strong interest in philosophy, he directed his attention to metaphysics as the way to still be able “to get close to the big questions .”
Academic studying has provided Hemming the opportunity to synthesize formal knowledge with artistic responses to the material. Participation in a course on Gregory Bateson’s “Ecology of the Mind,” with Professor Nicole Spiegelaar at the School of the Environment saw students invited to consider the intersection of scientific research with a creative element. The study of the Upanisads in the DSR, along with his love of horses and the themes of interconnectivity and systemic unity, came together in the painting shown here.
“In this case, I’d been researching fractals and also mycelia, the root-like structure of fungus that is made up of a mass of branching filaments,” Hemming says. “I saw parallels in the description of the sacrificial horse, where when it yawns, lightning strikes. And lightning looks so like a mycelial network! The branching I included in the painting references these similarities. These kinds of connections between natural phenomena are endlessly fascinating and inspirational.”
Visit Sigfried Echo Hemming’s website