Lewis Deeney

The Sky Is Dreaming

Fire Station Creative, Carnegie Drive, Dunfermline, UK

The Sky Is Dreaming, is the upcoming solo show of contemporary artist Lewis Deeney. Funded by Creative Scotland. 

Reimagining the rich visual language of our Celtic ancestors, Lewis Deeney breathes new life into ancient Celtic designs with his innovative creative process consisting of vibrant colours, interconnected laser-cut shapes and expressive, abstract painting. A journey through time, bridging the gap between past and present, Deeney's work offers a new perspective on our collective history.

Deeney has reenvisioned the Celtic Key pattern in his unique creative style by transforming iconic Celtic imagery within the context of the contemporary art landscape. The once-carved lines of the patterns that decorated stones, ornaments and devotional objects have been re- envisioned, digitally re-created and laser cut into interlocking shapes. The separate shapes are then expressively painted in a myriad of mesmerising colours before being reconstructed to create the finished painting. The precise laser-cut forms collide with the expressive abstraction of the artist's hand, creating a fusion of contemporary artistic innovation and ancestral wisdom.

The works on show explore the key pattern, a universal pattern found across the globe, transcending the vastness of Celtic culture into a realm of existence that is archetypal. Existing outwith culture, the key pattern is a fundamental part of the human psyche. The innovation of the Celts is the 45-degree diagonal axis, which was carved into stone by the Picts in Scotland and adorned various devotional objects across the Celtic landscape. The hard-edged spirals uniquely contrast the usual flowing forms of Celtic art yet align with the interlocking, maze-like designs, iconic to Celtic imagery.

Hypotonic in nature the paintings are a portal to the ‘other world,’ a realm of existence running parallel to the reality of our everyday waking consciousness. As understood by the Celts, the other world was the home of ancestral spirits, mythical beings, and nature-based deities. Shamans, priests, Druid's and various forms of seers and seekers could access these realms through the use of hallucinogenic plants, rituals, trances, chants, spiritual practices and visual art. The Key pattern unlocks the door to another experience of the world, the world of Celtic belief, animist spirits and ancestral wisdom.

With no written account of what they believed, we can only understand the world of our Celtic ancestors through their visual imagery, and what we discover is a rich, diverse culture with a nature-based spirituality. Although entirely abstract, geometric and non-representational, Deeney's paintings are intimately inspired by the natural world and the cyclical, interconnected worldview that was embodied in the pre-Christian, pre-western world of the Celts. Nature is alive, it's singing, dancing, creating and screaming. The title of the works emphasises the animism present within Celtic belief by personifying elements of nature. The separation and objectification of the natural world present in modern society is destructive and detach us from the spirit innate within being. The works directly challenge this worldview, asking us to consider how we might live in harmony with nature.

Through his artistic endeavours, Deeney aims to inspire a renewed appreciation for the rich heritage and cultural legacies that shape our world. Inviting viewers to reimagine the familiar, question assumptions, and uncover the hidden narratives that lie within the intricate tapestry of human history.