Mark Thursby – The Black Sun

Along side my interests in Shamanism, spirituality and the occult, I find Alchemy incredibly interesting as it is the precursor to chemistry and without it, humanity would not have made so many interesting scientific discoveries.

I find the spiritual and religious considerations of Alchemy interesting the most as each symbol not only represents an element or certain process, each one has meaning linking to the spirit of man and the universe.

Personally I have always been surrounded by spirituality and death, researching and incorporating into my art works, as it has got me through the highest and lowest parts of my life.

For my piece I have focused on the concept of the Black Sun. It represents both the positive and negative aspects of the sun for humanity, both creating life and destroying it as a truly neutral force of the universe. The Black Sun also links to the first stages of creating the Philosopher’s stone.
The Black Sun within Occultism represents a gate way to the underworld, and the journey of transformation and rebirth of the soul. So for my piece, I have combined these concepts of the neutral force of the sun being the gateway to the neutralising of the soul after the journey of death and rebirth. It shows the light and darkness of the soul glowing together as both need each other to exist.

I have had a lot of fun researching and creating this piece as it links to me and my personal interests and experiences. I hope you enjoy my piece too.
Thank you.