Nest of Fire

A mythical bird of matchless splendour, with an extraordinary long life, the phoenix is said to have come from Ethiopia. Having been cremated on a funeral pyre, it had the power to be reborn from its own ashes. When the time of its death drew near it would build a nest twigs and its feathers and ignite it with the heat of its own body.

The symbolism displays cycles of resurrection and immortality. This is why throughout the middle ages the phoenix was made the symbol of Christ's resurrection.

In ancient Egypt it was the symbol of the daily solar cycle and linked to the annual flooding of the nile... hence the link to regeneration and new life.

In China the male bird was a symbol of happiness and the female an emblem of the empress, in contrast to the Imperial Dragon.

The phoenix conjures up the an image of creative and destructive fire, from which the world began and in which it will end. The bird is a surrogate Shiva or Orpheus. The phoenix often bore a star to display its celestial nature and the nature of life in the Otherworld.

A common mythological creature found throughout the World's legends is has been once again been brought back to life through the art of recycling. Using reclaimed polyethylene plastic as the metaphorical feathers of the phoenix, I used it to weave a nest and capture the Sun's rays through the centre.