The World Around Us

Shapes of Security
batik 1100 x 500 mm (43 x 19 inches)
for sale

I had longed to make a batik about King Crabs or Horseshoe Crabs after watching females at dawn who'd come ashore to lay eggs. In Malaysia the eggs are considered a delicacy, and it was sad to see such ancient creatures being trapped undignifiedly in the sand by their tails before being stripped of their eggs. Inspiration didn't come until several years later when I was shown King Crab fossils on rocks right here in Cornwall. King Crabs had lived here too? Why had they not survived in Britain but had in Malaysia - was it just due to climate change and continental shift? The fact that they have survived at all is amazing enough - they have changed remarkably little since prehistoric times.

'Shapes' shows four species that have found their own routes for survival: a thistle has many flower heads each with many seeds, light enough to fly far on the wind; shield bugs belong to one of the largest order of insects, the true bugs, with about 70,000 species worldwide; an acorn, the seed of an oak tree, represents wisdom and oaks living to a very old age produce many acorns over their lifetime. But who knows the King Crab's secret?

Ian's night
batik 915 x 760 mm (36 x 30 inches) approx
private collection

When a toddler cannot sleep and keeps crying out night after night, yet is happy, smiling, cheerful, and active by day, you begin to wonder what could be going through his mind. Darkness and the night are traditional times for evil spirits to make mischief, and the night time has long been feared by peoples around the world. There are many animals also active only by night, and they should be considered friends, allies and protectors.

Tradition of February 14th
batik 1070 x 1070 mm (42 x 42 inches)
private collection

There is an old British belief that birds pair for the season on February 14th. The outer ring of birds is the males, the inner ring the females.

Frog Totem
batik 380 x 1000 mm (15 x 39 inches)
private commission

Commissioned by an ardent frog fanatic and collector, whose only instruction to me was 'Frog!'. His house was so full of frog pictures, decoration and ornaments that even the toilet seat was decorated with them. It was, to say the least, overwhelming. People in ancient cultures always had (and have) an animal or plant assigned to them for, amongst other things, mutual protection and spiritual strength. I wondered whether this young man's consumerist association with frogs was in fact an ancient calling to his totem. There certainly was something about his demeanour that was vaguely froglike.

1993 - Internal/External (external view)
batik 915 x 710 mm (36 x 28 inches)
artist's collection

1993 - Internal/External (internal view)
batik 915 x 710 mm (36 x 28 inches)
artist's collection

I had spent nearly five years overseas between 1987 and 1992, mostly in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. Although I'd returned to Britain for several months in 1990 when my grandmother was ill, it still hadn't prepared me for the cultural difference and reality of living and working back in Britain. Everyone seemed to be rushing around, cramming their life as full as possible, but always too busy to do anything. When I moved to Cornwall, several people in the village suggested I'd find the pace of life pretty slow - but compared to Malaysia even they were whizzing around. Most people in South East Asia, and to a lesser extent Australians and New Zealanders, tend to live much closer to nature - by which I mean they know and respect the rhythms, cycles and order of nature more than the British. Perhaps it's to do with their outdoor life. I found settling back into British life much more of a personal struggle than I had adjusting to new customs and cultures in those other countries. Of course much is to do with me and who I am, but others from both within and beyond Britain have observed the same.

This painting was made in 1994 when I realised I'd crossed the threshold back into 'normal' British life, and could look back and analyse my emotions over the previous few years. I'm as good as the next person now in discussing negative aspects of the weather, but I still refuse to wear a watch or carry a diary.


Stop worrying and being always busy and you will conserve the
life force that protects the body. If your body and spirit are strong and
healthy, you will be unified with nature.
Chuang Tzu

All images and text copyright of the artist © 1998-2007 Robin Paris All Rights Reserved