Sven Froekjaer-Jensen                                                     The Babylon Project. 

 

 

The concept of deceit, of sin and misery. The study of lies and messages from smooth talking strangers. The masking of own interests as common good for the usefull idiots or even worse the useful innocents. All this is part of the Babylon myth together with the clash between good and evil, between the times that has been and the future that has already hit us. The difficulty to separate the positive and negative from the past and the present, the double faced monster of being able to have consciousness and at the same time consciousness without sufficient elements and informations. To be able to think and wonder but not able to maintain the different elements in the mind for creating useful synthesis, that is part of the explanation of Babylon - and the condition of being human.  

The Babylon project consists of the description of deep feelings and commen human conditions. 

The Babylon project will consist of at least 6 painting trying to identify the modern Babylon and its impact on the inhabitants of this planet - and the diversity of the access to understanding. 

They are painted in acryllic and oil colors and using a very limited range of colors for the clarity of expression. If you want you can follow the work on this page. 

I at first expected the project to be finished in the beginning of 2013, but by working very hard - almost day and night - I have created the first 6 paintings of the Babylon project, long before I expected. You can see the paintings, when you schroll down the page. Several of the paintings have been made in a second version, which can be seen very small at the bigger picture. If you click the small picture it will lead you to the big new one. 

 

The Sibyl of Cumae.

 

 

  Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
   happy is the one who repays you
   according to what you have done to us.

Psalm 137. 

Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: Sibylla ti theleis; respondebat illa: apothanein thelo.

I have seen with my own eyes the Sibyl hanging in a jar, and when the boys asked her “What do you want?” She answered, “I want to die." Petronius, Satyricon

Trojan, Anchises' son, the descent of Avernus is easy. All night long, all day, the doors of Hades stand open. But to retrace the path, to come up to the sweet air of heaven,That is labour indeed.

Warning from the Cumean Sibyl to Aeneas before descending the road to the underworld to meet his father Anchises. Aeneid 6.126-129

sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities contemplating jazz in Rockland where fifty more shocks will never return your soul to its body again from its pilgrimage to a cross in the void
Allan Ginsberg. Excerpts from Howl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Rose for Lazarus. The riddle of Death and the dream of what is left behind the curtain - with your face covered with the cloth of yesterday. 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a Mystery to me. You can put whatever meaning you want into the painting, but when you hit the right solution, you will no longer be in doubt.

At the Edge of Town. The old matrice of violence, revenge and fighting. The title might also have been: I have seen 

 

 

If the Moon had a sister, It´s got to be you. The multilated person wrapped up in very thin paper is part of the moon and at the same time part of a common human condition. 

The Shaman price or INRI. The raven is of course part of the painting. 

   

The wiever. The emptiness of the picture is a necessary part of the concept. Looking on all the modern features like we all do instead of acting. 

Waiting for the Sun. The power of nature, the quest for meaning and the devotion to the destiny are all elements embedded in this painting. 

   

Changes. The never ending Changes of our lives. 

Dreams. Always looking for the ultimative deception. 

Your Face - no Disguise.

 

 
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