The adage that states, “a picture paints a thousand words -” was clearly speaking of Mary Mary Quite Contrary. This provocative painting explores the relationship between Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary: Lover and Mother, Prostitute and Perpetual Virgin as signified by the early fathers of the Catholic Church.
Interestingly enough, this relationship mirrors the much older Gnostic dictate that describes the “Decent of Sophia” which reflects on the soul journey from perfect being, descending to the earthly plane where an awareness of false self sets in. Temptation through the vehicle of free will is the cause of her fall into the depths of human struggle where she is shown as a prostitute - living on the dark side. Yet it is this dark side that brings the brightness and beauty of her true self to light and she ascends back into the cosmos to be forever joined with her perfection. The ascension of Mary and the restoration of her virginity became dogma in 1950.
Symbolically, the tree represents the motif from the Garden of Eden that led to self-awareness and free will with the snake seen as temptation. The two Marys are adrift floating toward a rebirth as seen in the butterfly. The donkey represents the stubborn weight of dogma, which resists new wisdom and change as it weighs down the spiritual evolution of mankind. Depending on your personal view of this image - the donkey can be seen either as a background image standing onshore that the spirit journey is now bypassing or firmly planted in the center of the boat depicting a literal reading of this dogma as actual fact. The bloody handprints across the habit gown of the virgin, remind us of the millions of souls persecuted and slaughtered in the advancement of religious dogma.
Homage: James Christensen
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