Water 4

Water 4. 2011.
Oil on linen.
40 x 30 cm (15.8" x 11.8").

Water 4. 2011.
Detail

Rain releases a grain of sand from the top of a mountain, which is carried to the sea. It is buried and eventually transformed into a layer of sedimentary rock. Eons later, the stone is lifted by tectonic action. The process begins anew: erosion reveals a timeless beauty in the exposed layers. A human lifetime is but an instant when considered from geologic timeframe.

There are parallels between our lives and the hydrologic cycle; renewal and birth, energy and life, erosion and decay. The physical and often ancient or transient traces left by earth and hydrologic processes are a reminder of our mortality even as they suggest redemption through renewal, evoking the cycles of energy and life.

I am a water resources engineer and artist. The latest 'water' series brings these two halves together. (http://erikrhagen.com/water/water.html)