Lux Æterna

Lux Æterna, Latin for ‘Eternal Light’, is a series of 57 paintings in which I follow the process of a man on his way to self-realisation, the highest of human needs.

This series gave me the opportunity to give expression to an ever-present longing for something to fulfil my heart and release me from the blindness of my ego. The story of the man is my own story and manifests my inner quest for Truth, Light and Freedom. 
The thematic repetition gave me the opportunity to deepen the technical aspect of oil paint and to experiment richly.

The poems have been written by Koen Van Damme www.devrijepen.be

dukkha

darkness

the soul gazes at itself

this suffocated glance at

undecided freedom

eyes robbed of sight

asking, begging, shouting

grasping the path

towards the light

deluded and lied to

by my own senses

no more surprises

only rigid love

veiled wonder lurks

a sigh, moaning into despair

desire captures fear

and darkness recoils

standing upright

closer to the light

becomes clearer my sight

for a while

when melancholy comes knocking

hope heavy as lead

locks up the mind

and then

Silence

maya

insight sprouts

that diving in counts

that seeing mounts

my scattered mind

receptive to

that one thing with many names

after some rest

the swell is back

early freedom howls

viscous darkness growls

my body itches

the light does not see

you call yourself

you hear yourself

you become Yourself

nascent light flatters

internalized glance

finding meaning in darkness

starts inside

freed from their blindness

eyes do show up

in need of slowness

getting used to the lustre

glowing feels good

makes you forget

fresh confidence rises

out of shining earth

The Burden

  Oil on Canvas   100 x 180cm 

The Current

  Oil o Canvas   100 x 200cm