logo

Mountain Ecstasy

Work details

I discovered Tantric Art at an exhibition at the Hayward gallery in the early 1970s. Several years later I was able to explore this in depth with my partner, Nik Douglas. I introduced him to the medium of collage and we created the series of collages that appear in Mountain Ecstasy as a celebration of the Tantric world. Everything was both sacred and profane. Out of the confines of the house (An Exorcism) and into the wide expanses of mountain heights and the full spectrum dreamscape where nothing was taboo. It was both healing and liberating as I embraced a whole new colorful palette and used nearly all ‘found images’ rather than photographs I had taken myself. The series represented a shift from the intensely personal to the trans-personal, seeing the self in everything. It involved the alchemy of pornography, for I used many images from my collection of erotica, redefining them in a Tantric context. We added poetry and quotations to compliment the images.

Unfortunately British customs did not understand the nature of the work and burnt thousands of copies of the Mountain Ecstasy book when they were entering England from the printers in the Netherlands.

  • Mountain Ecstasy Cover

    Full color book of collages & poetry 1978

  • The Test

    Collage on board 22 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Mindsky

    Collage on board 22 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Sea Anenone

    Collage on board 22 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Octopussies

    Collage on board 26.5 x 31 inches 1976-77

  • Dolphin Delerium

    Collage on board 31 x 36 inches 1976-77

  • Horse Play

    Collage on board 27 x 48 inches 1976-77

  • Burn the Buddhas

    Collage on board 22.5 x 15.5 inches 1976-77

  • The Golden Pyramid

    Collage on board 23 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Mountains of Mysteries

    Collage on board 26.5 x 26 inches 1976-77

  • Isis Unveiling

    Collage on board 26,5 x 31.5 inches 1976-77

  • Eastern Alchemy

    Collage on board 23 x 17.5 inches 1976-77

  • Hermetic Vessel

    Collage on board 19.5 x 28.5 inches 1976-77

  • Transformation-Crystal Palace

    Collage on board 29.5 x 20.5 inches 1976-77

  • Pearl Diver

    Collage on board 21 x 15.25 inches 1976-77

  • Mother of Pearl

    Collage on board 23 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Silver Cascade

    Collage on board 20.5 x 29.5 inches 1976-77

  • The Golden Triangle

    Collage on board 35 x 23 inches 1976-77

  • Mountain Ecstasy

    Collage on board 36 x 24 inches 1976-77

  • Solstice

    Collage on board 31 x 21 inches 1976-77

  • Dark Side of the Moon

    Collage on board 23 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • At the Feet of Kali

    Collage on board 23 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Cosmic Yoni

    Collage on board 25.5 x 20 inches 1976-77

  • Journeys End

    Collage on board 23 x 16.5 inches 1976-77

  • Share