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.