of the Trees
This body of work by Melinda McCarthy, is inspired by the stories surrounding oghams, an old celtic alphabet. Believed to be the basis for the celtic tree calendar, each character has a tree assigned to it which in turn holds it's own deities, totem animals and stories. Each painting is named after it's relevant ogham.
Shown initially in Brick Lane Gallery, London in March 2008 and then at Artspace Galleries, Mayfair, London in May 2008 (see news and events for details), this body of work is now here to see online. Enjoy!
*Please note, all the works on this page are for sale, if you wish to purchase any of the works, please contact the artist
BeithBeith represents the Birch tree, and new beginnings. A tree linked to the great bard Taliesin, it's totem animal is the white stag. Quite recently a mummy was found on the Pazyryk plains bordering Russia and Mongolia. A woman who was buried as one of great importance and archaeologists believe that she was a storyteller or shaman. A bard. Curiously on her shoulder was a tattoo of the stag a sign perhaps of this relationship reaching far beyond the celts of the British Isles and showing us we are all more connected than we think.
Luis represents the Rowan tree. Also known as the whispering tree, the Rowan tree was thought to be magical, whispering its secrets to those willing to listen. The berries were thought to have originally come from the faerie world and accidentally dropped thus creating the Rowan tree. It's totem is the Green Dragon and it is also associated with fire.
GortGort although not an actual tree as such, represents Ivy. Linked to the veiled moon and the goddess Arianrhod. It's totem is the butterfly as Ivy was believed to hide the entrance to the faerie world which could be opened through rituals to the goddess.
Ngetal represents the Reed. More a woody type plant than a tree, the Reed is connected to the underworld. It is associated with Pwyll and Arawn, who change places for a year and a day one being a prince and one being the ruler of the underworld thus also representing the time of Samhain now known as our Halloween. A time when there are no boundaries between the earthly and spirit worlds. People would celebrate dressed as animals and it was also the time for reeded instruments.
Coll
Coll represents Hazel, the tree of concentrated wisdom. It is associated with Ogma a god of eloquence, tongue chained to his ears as it was believed his words were his weapons. It is believed that he created the oghams. It's totem animal the rainbow salmon was said to have eaten the hazel nuts which fell into the water by the hall of the faerie king, through which it gained the knowledge and wisdom of the world and with every nut it ate a spot appeared on its scales.
Saille represents the Willow tree. A bewitched tree said to be able to walk around at night. This tree was often associated with withcraft but also with life cycles as it was said to carry two scarlet eggs in it's boughs. One of the sun and one the earth. It was also associated with goddess Ceridwen, a sorceress and keeper of the cauldron of knowledge. She was also said to be the mother of the bard Talesian.
Nion
Nion represents the Ash tree. A very sacred tree it seems not only in the British Isles, but throughout a great part of Europe. In Gaelic, it's name is related to that of heaven "Nionon" and in Germanic culture it was considered the tree of creation. The ash tree itself produces sap which was harvested as a type of honey and there are various legends surrounding this including ones involving fearies collecting this nectar from the gods.