Spirits of the Wood – Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal, Botanical Garden, Montréal, Québec

Typically, mosaiculture creations require a sunlit environment in order to satisfy the lighting needs of the plants that are used to cover the sculpture. This work – entitled The Spirit of the Wood – is an experimental one since the willow plot in which it was situated is shaded and the artists made use of shade-loving plants.

The full installation consisted of four separate mosaiculture works representing Celtic deities known as custodians of Nature. The photo shows two of them:

The Ram-head Serpent: The serpent is a universal symbol found in many different myths and cultures. Far removed from its pervasive association with evil, the serpent embodies immortality, infinity and the forces underpinning the creation of all life. The Ram-headed Serpent is related to the Gallic god Cernunnos, who was worshipped across all of Celtic Europe and in Gaul, where he represented the cultural unification achieved by the Celts in the course of expanding their empire.

Cernunnos is the god of fertility and embodies masculine energy. Cernunnos is a very ancient deity, quite popular until the second century C.E. Master of the animal kingdom, Cernunnos is the god of virility, fertility, wealth and the forest, and the guardian of the gate to the after-world. Cernunnos is seen here brandishing stag antlers and carries the Ram-headed Serpent in his left hand.

For a description of the art of Mosaiculture and of the Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal competition, please turn to the first photo in this series at:

www.ipernity.com/doc/jonathan.cohen/33872015