Black Metal, Ecology and Contemporary Nihilism

Abstract: Abstract 1: Master Thesis - Investigating the relationship between the aesthetics of Black Metal and its ecological and nihilistic implications with contemporary painting, comics and Chaos Magick spiritual practice. Abstract 2: Documentation of solo exhibition titled Zurbaráns' Dream. The works take as a starting point the paintings of Saint Francis by Francisco De Zurbarán. The depictions of Saint Francis within Catholic mythology in the 16th/17th century used symbolic postures and objects to create paintings that were instructional for spiritual transcendence. My paintings are developed from an esoteric fiction manipulated by the process of lucid dreaming. They are inspired by Zurbaráns' 'dream' of using art and iconography as tools for spiritual transcendence.