Title: The Ouroboros or in the Immediate Universal Consciousness
Year: 2023
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Artist: Harry Rosenow
 
This painting draws upon the ancient symbol of the Ouroboros, a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. For Rosenow, it represents both a limit and a return: the edge of thought, where language dissolves, and the circle of existence closes in on itself.
The work evokes a state beyond duality, a time before separation when all is fused in a cocoon-like unity. “It is the state of the newborn with his mother,” Rosenow writes, “until the emergence of his singularity and individuality.”
 
At once meditative and unsettling, The Ouroboros or in the Immediate Universal Consciousness invites viewers to reflect on the paradox of consciousness: our striving to know, and the necessity of surrender when thought reaches its end. The snake completes its loop, not as an ending, but as a beginning again.
 
Harry Rosenow is a contemporary artist known for his intuitive painting style, where brushstrokes are guided by pigments and materials rather than premeditated plans. His work captures raw emotion and spontaneity, reflecting an unfiltered expression of what moves him.

He created this series of paintings in June and July 2023 in Karakorum, during his residency at the Steppe Art Residency, hosted by the Mongolian Calligraphy and Art Center.
 
"The canvas here are not shown in a specific order. One can touch us, talk to us or no. Life is rich and complex. I can, while standing in my cave, experience the light, be aware of my fall, dive into infinity or forget it, be stuck in my mental brain or taste the Joy, the Peace and the Serenity of the Mystery that floods me." ~Harry Rosenow