The Spice Melange

“The Spice Melange” 2021

“The spice extends life,
The spice expands consciousness,
The spice is vital to space travel.” - Dune
~
I've been continuing on my studies with Islamic Tile Design, Tryptamines and the intersection of the two. It’s quite funny where inspiration comes from.

Currently I'm listening to the 1965 Science Fiction series “Dune” by Frank Herbert as an Audiobook. Which is clearly about a “fictional” psychoactive compound, “The Spice”. Having spent the week researching Dimethyltryptamine, I feel they share a fitting resemblance. Also turns out it is really quite easy to extract, for it grows in so many plants, grasses, trees & even is endogenous within our own bodies. This realm is flooded with it. A topic worth exploring indeed.

So I have been designing this mandala called "The Spice Melange" while listening to the audio book of Dune and also the Album “Technological Determinism” by Hypnagog. Also In concert with taking notes from the excellent book “Sacred Codes” by Laurence Caruana (which I highly recommend for visionary artists) to find harmony within the works. Harmony is something I find the Islamic tile artisans do masterfully.

Something I’ve been enjoying doing from the start of this art journey is bridging world traditions. Similar to Frank Herbert’s Dune, which incorporates Islamic and Arabic themes, within a futuristic interplanetary narrative. Here within my drawing, that theme continues and I feel I’m getting closer to an art form which I have only glimpsed within, and I hope to get closer and closer to documenting this emanation as the journey unfolds.
inshallah.

Limited Edition of 50 Signed Prints are available on my webstore.
https://www.hazelmandala.com/store/the-spice-melange

11x 11" Professional Giclee print
Thank you.
Dune Audiobook found here
https://audiobooklabs.com/dune-audiobook/?fbclid=IwAR2tXCCoEF-14MK5u8nEBDnbs1s5DIHTTKzYqD1A30Vgr9BPLeuLBNfbRJk