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Venus and the ruins

( Size: 125cm x 100cm Acrylic on canvas )

Venus and the ruins

Leila Kubba Kawash 1996.

Complexity comment:

The cool detachment of Greek male philosophical thought, symbolised here by the hard architectural structures, static and permanent in a blue ground, contrasts with the dynamic and passionate nature of the female emotions, vibrant and warm, symbolised by the Roman godess of love. It is in the interplay of these worlds that our lives unfold, a meshing of feelings and rationality. Adopting either behaviour in isolation reflects only a Platonic shadow of our human spirit. A spirit which ensnares within all of us both female and male aspects - yin and yang elements forming a balance between creation and destruction.

Learning from the past is an essential aspect of education, but we see also that static knowledge is constricting, it decays over time and becomes outdated. We need to go beyond our own heritage and stretch out to embrace different possibilities, other cultures, new technology, fresh thought patterns. Yet recognising the value of diversity is also essential if we are to avoid repeating those past intolerances to our neighbours, and to alternative views that are often merely different than our own. With diversity comes choice and it is this personal choice, within a social context, that is the essence of effective democracy.

Page Version 1.0 June 1999
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