Maratika Cave near Lamidanda, Nepal

Rubbings of Reality: Introduction

In contrast to the general myopia of everyday life there are those exceedingly rare moments of experience when the world pauses, opens and offers a glimpse into its mystery. This window of vision is sometimes referred to as an aperture—an opening between levels of consciousness. This concept is central to understanding the unique personal experience that brought these works into being, for it was through such an aperture that the discovery and re-creation of Carol Hoy’s images emerged.

Appearing as it does in formations of nature, Dakini writing can be considered an expression of cellular consciousness. Whether formed in ripples on flat water, in the intricate designs of tree bark, or in oddly pictographic markings in stone, these fractual patterns are believed to contain age-old wisdom and to reflect the spiritual nature of an interdimensional, interconnected world.

While traveling in India and Nepal, Carol came in contact with these peculiar forms for the first time. There, on the walls of a sacred cave long used as a ritual ground for practitioners of many spiritual paths, including Dzogchen Buddhism, she found the images “[she] had been looking for…” Moved by the “voices” of these markings, Carol recorded them in graphite and crayon rubbings, from which most of the paintings featured in this exhibition were inspired.

In translating the cave images into paintings, Carol has made a creative leap to transform artistic control into inspired communication. Like a free form jazz musician, she has attempted to let the music of her art create Itself, thereby retaining the essential elements of the original forms which inspired her. Her characteristic use of color brings these forms into relief, creating highly communicative, balanced impressions which convey to the viewer the sense of wonder and eternal mystery in which they were conceived.

—Joseph Horton
interview with Carol Hoy 3/27/97

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