Fra Wheels of life  til Metamorphose

The Wheels of Life exhibition has found a new home in the garden of our new Tuscan home, Villa Rosita. It has been in the garden for more than a year and nature has started to leave its mark on the wheels. The sun fades the colors, birds and insects eat the yarn and I have realized that my choice of material was perfect for indoor use, but not for a life outside in nature. So now I have found a supplier of synthetic yarn that should be better suited for a life in the garden. Slowly, the wheels will be replaced and, in addition, the content will change as my life's journey continues.

​

From the dawn of time, man has sought to understand the connection between heaven and earth, the cosmos and man. Wisdom has always been communicated visually through symbols and shapes that have often been shown to have a universal meaning and are often connected to an esoteric language. This language speaks to us in different ways, to several layers of our consciousness and subconsciousness. We transfer it into our own reality, and it becomes our understanding of the world. We understand changes as our own experience grows, the world around us becomes smaller, and the relationship with that which is greater than ourselves becomes clearer.

There are many ways to get in touch with our inner wisdom in one's own life. It is in itself, a personal inner pilgrimage. The path is individual, so is the goal, if there is a goal. I am on my pilgrimage, and with my experiences and insights came the inspiration for the exhibition "Wheels of Life".

   Wikipedia says: A pilgrim is a person who prepares or undertakes a journey for spiritual reasons. Pilgrimage is known from several religions and the use of the term has been expanded, so that someone who travels to a place that is very important to him can be called a pilgrim, even if there is no religion behind it. The pilgrim often seeks spiritual purification or to get closer to the divine, but there are also many other reasons for travelling. In the Middle Ages it also took on the meaning "a person who wanders from place to place".

 
The world is changing rapidly, borders are shifting and we need a universal understanding of what it means to be human. An understanding of who we are and what role we have in the great world web. This across religions, cultures, skin color and language. This quest, for an understanding of what it is to be human on earth, has always been part of my life and my expression and is constantly changing. I want to share my experience and my insights with the world through art.

   After many years as a textile and knitting designer, it was natural for me to choose a form of expression and materials that I have immersed myself in. Leftover yarn from my life as a designer is used as a starting point for the project. My own understanding and life experience after many years of work as a coach and life guide and spiritual seeker has provided inspiration for color choice and design.
   
   The dot, the circle, spirals and lines are ancient, universal symbols found in all cultures. From the point springs all creation. From there, we can draw lines and create infinite shapes and figures, which in turn can be drawn in any direction you want, and further intertwine ad infinitum. The circle represents everything and nothing, beginning and end, creation, the cycle and the course of life. In "Wheels of Life", the point, the line (the thread) and the circle are all central expressions. During the work, the snake and the butterflies appeared. The snake, as a symbol, is found in most cultures, and I myself have encountered it time and time again in my inner work. The butterfly symbolizes transformation, from a lovable caterpillar to a beautiful and often colorful creature.

   The snake represents vitality and fertility, life and death. The duality of good and evil, that which tempts and frightens. The snake also carries wisdom. In Ouroborus, the snake biting its own tail, we see a symbol of the whole, the circle. In addition, the snake eats itself, feeds itself, as it sheds the skin, the ego, layer by layer. This goes on as an endless process, in eternal renewal and eternal rebirth.

   In addition to the symbols, colors play an essential role. The strong colors become a visual language.  Colors that speak, that vibrate, activate and touch, regardless of age, cultural origin and point of view.

   We are in a time with a focus on pilgrimages, people from all over the world travel to Jerusalem, Mecca, Santiago de Compostela, Varanasi and Lourdes. Man chooses to undertake  out for a walk; - in contemplation, in the landscape and in oneself.

  In the summer of 2021, I started a new pilgrimage by moving to Tuscany in Italy, an external and internal pilgrimage that will probably continue for the rest of my life. The wheels came to Italy after being packed away for several years and I look at them with new eyes. In the wheels I can reflect myself and I see that I have moved on since they were exhibited at Hadeland Glassverk in 2017. New insights must be implemented and the wheels will now be exhibited in our garden here in Tuscany.
               

                                                                                      Kari Hestnes