Image of the Week: Eye of the Beloved

© D. Yael Bernhard

Love is a mirror.  In the eye of the beloved we see our own soul reflected back to us.  When love is mutual, a third entity may be present – the relationship itself, sometimes experienced as something divine and ineffable – a gift from heaven.  The feeling of connection to such a beloved can be so intense, we want to kiss the other's eye.    

This is what I pondered as I created this image, a fusion of earth and sky, body and soul.  The two faces are opposite, like yin and yang, yet of the same substance.  The eye of God, symbolized by two hamsas, stamps the cheek of both lovers like tears.  A hamsa – a hand with an eye in the palm – is a symbol for God's presence and protection that is worn by many Jews for good luck, and is found all over the Middle East as jewelry, window pendants, door signs, etc.  The word hamsa is Arabic for "five" – the five fingers of a palm embedded with consciousness.  

This is another gouache painting, which gives the image a fine, leathery quality.  It's pretty small, about 8" wide.  It's also another example of overlapping, transparent images – a technique I use quite frequently.  In this case I began with a basic profile, then traced it, turned it upside down, and slid the two tracings over each other until their lips met each other's eyes.  I was remembering a certain person, a love that had been deeper than any before in my life – a love lost, lamented, and memorialized in several paintings.  The eye of God seemed to gaze upon me and through me in connecting to this unique soul.  There was an uncanny perfection to this person's imperfections that made me love him all the more.  And then that eye closed and the soul withdrew.  It took several years for me to heal my broken heart, and to cherish the memories without pain.  

As Valentine's Day approaches, I think of all the people in the world who have a special love, who long for love, who retreat from love, who find and lose love in myriad forms.  I think of all the art and music and literature inspired by love, expressive of love, yearning for love.  I think of the hearts broken and the hearts united, and the soaring emotions that lift us out of our ordinary awareness.  Through the particular, we find the universal.  Through the personal, we find the transpersonal.  

Upon it all, the eye of the Beloved gazes.

Happy Valentine's Day and a good week to all!


D Yael Bernhard
http://dyaelbernhard.com
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