Het oog van de reiziger I en II
"The eye of the traveler" I and II shows some attributes of a traveller. The obligatory suitcase of course, but also a camera, and a crystal ball.That crystal ball symbolizes the soul of the traveller. It is clear that travelling can mean spiritual travelling, or simply cruising on the tides of the universe. Observation of the paraphernalia of the traveller makes you understand the allegorical painting. You do not know where the suitcase all stood or what is collected, nor what the lens of the camera, the eye of the traveller has passed by. And less you know everything that is stored inside the crystal ball, that amalgam of live impressions and innate inner landscape. On the way to nowhere, we sometimes have to defend ourselves with dangerous weaponry, or ritual exorcism, or consult knowledge ancient ancestors gathered.
One day I had the opportunity to visit an Indian village in the company of an anthropologist in Mato Grosso. I found no trace of the romantic concept of the noble savage over there. They simply do not exist, I thought by myself. However, aren't we all noble savages, deep in our heart? Because if we would not, could we have achieved anything at all?