Soil Mother Fed By Her Vultures (Çatalhöyük)

I’ve been taking an extended break from art-making, so this is the last thing I painted, way back in August last year. I haven’t shared it until now because, along with a piece of writing, it was meant to be a contribution to a collaborative project. But since that is now on hold indefinitely, I’ve decided to reveal the Soil Mother in all her glory.

This is my imaginative rendering of the Neolithic town of Çatalhöyük (found in modern day Turkey), combining two motifs: a headless Mother Goddess figurine, who, to me, represents the fertility of the soil (the original found here; one of many such figures found at the site); and vultures, as depicted in the famous ‘vulture shrine’ mural, which portrays the ‘excarnation’ (de-fleshing) of bodies prior to burial (a common Neolithic practice). 

I liked the headless figures from the mural echoing the headless figurine, pointing towards the primacy of the body in early cultures, rather than the overly rational or controlling mind.

The vultures are a symbol of death as part of life, and life emerging from death. Neolithic people understood that the Life Mother is also the Death Mother—that the bountiful, often pregnant or large-breasted Goddess, also appears as the bone-white Goddess of death and decay. Vultures were sacred to the Goddess in her death aspect, and by eating the dead, transforming their bodies into the soil which gives rise to new life, they were awe-inspiring agents of regeneration. Death, though mysterious, was not to be feared, but embraced as part of the cycle of life.

I hope that the postponed project does eventually come to some kind of fruition, and this image will reach a larger audience. I also hope to get back into my studio in the coming weeks and months and bring forth more of my visions. Until then, I am just moving with the natural cycle, knowing that death and falling away is the mother to new life, new creativity.

As always, this image is available from Redbubble.

Soil Mother Fed By Her Vultures (Çatalhöyük),
watercolours and gouache on gesso prepared cardboard (2021)