Laura Langer at Kunsthaus Glarus | frieze | review

The spiral has been used as a symbol since the beginning of recorded culture. In Celtic mythologies, for instance, spirals denote elevation to higher levels of consciousness. Popular iconographies based on Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian mythology, on the other hand, combine the spiral with a straight line to represent the power of healing through faith or science: a snake wrapping itself around a rod is carried by Apollo’s healer son Asclepius, for instance, while Moses used the Nehushtan, a bronze serpent on a pole, to guide and protect the Israelites in exile. The ancient Greeks once understood snakes to signify wisdom, healing, and resurrection, and in yogic practice, the spiralled snake channels kundalini energy.

read more…