I always like to save something special for my last post of the week, and I think you won’t be disappointed with what I found for you today.

First and foremost, I want to give you a little background on the man who inspired this piece.  You may or may not have heard the name Alex Grey before, although you probably have seen some of his work.  As one of the most distinctive artists in the past 50 years, his work explores spirituality through visionary art, a form of psychedelic art.  I’m definitely not an expert in art theory, so I won’t try to explain his works in-depth, but what I can tell you is that his art has a profound effect on the majority of people who see it.  For many people the first time they might have seen some of his work was on the album art for Tool’s Lateralus album.  Since then Alex has worked with the band, in addition to his own works, and has produced not only album art, but also set designs for their live shows and even created the visuals for this video.  One of Alex’s major works, The Sacred Mirrors, has been turned into a gallery exhibit known as the Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors.  A film was made about the gallery, and features interviews with Alex as he explains his paintings.

Of course with his art focusing on spiritual transformation, he easily became a natural inspiration for modification artists.  Gabriel Cece, from Studio Evolve Tattoo in Virginia Beach, VA, recently created this piece that is an interpretation of Alex’s work.

The art of modification is strongly linked to a transformative spirituality, where the individual regardless of the personal reasoning behind it, transforms their body on a physical level to achieve some internal satisfaction.  This piece in particular speaks volumes towards this transformation, as the eyes placed on the transparent hands show the inner self looking out on the world.  The spirituality of self is viewing the outside world, and is changing the external self to reflect the thoughts and feelings of the inside.

I think I should stop myself there, as I could probably go on for hours about the beauty of this piece of art.  With the new gallery system on BME, you’re able to leave a comment directly on the page of the image, so if you wish to share your thoughts on this with Gabriel, head over to the religious and mythological tattoo gallery and leave a comment.