Cosmic Octopus
Cosmic Octopus, embroidery on purple velvet, 2018
Back in April 2018, I completed an embroidery I'd been working on for around six months. It was all hand sewn onto a large piece of purple velvet fabric and, despite taking a while to finish, was extremely enjoyable to make. The idea for this piece was quite random actually—it was one of those instances where an image just pops into your head. However, the wonderful thing about art is that meanings can be interpreted and created after a little bit of delving. When I personally observe the creation process of this piece, I begin to see quite clearly why the image popped into my head and why I wanted to turn it into a tangible artwork.
The idea for this embroidery coincided with Blue Planet II, when incredible footage of marine creatures was being shown on our screens. At the same time, I happened to be doing a bit of casual research on exoplanets (planets beyond our Solar System). I find it intriguing that I decided to combine these two themes of space and the ocean (the dark purple background is also reminiscent of the deep sea, let alone the dark vastness of our universe), simply because of my interest in other organisms. I like to observe and study animals as if they are people. I think many of us consider humans to be more intelligent than other animals and therefore conclude that we are of a higher status than these 'lesser beings'.
Yet scientists have studied octopuses and seen that they have very large brains and are highly intelligent. These weird, eight-tentacled creatures are experts at problem-solving, and have a reputation for being brilliant escape artists. Shortly after I made the embroidery, I read Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. He wrote that the 'weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing...consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates' (page 142). This quote resonated with me because, as humans, we like to think we are the most intelligent. We have elated ourselves, puffed ourselves up and sat ourselves on a pedestal, which has caused a disconnection between us and other creatures. Because of this disconnection, our planet's health has crumbled and biodiversity has dropped significantly.
The word ‘disconnection’ is important regarding this embroidery, as the theme behind it is interconnectedness. I remember years ago I read somewhere that the Buddha had likened the universe to a jewelled necklace; bright and beautiful beads joined by the necklace string. He was saying that all beings are interconnected, and therefore all individuals are equal. The planets in Cosmic Octopus remind me of those beads, connected by the octopus’ tentacles. And the octopus itself serves as a reminder that all perspectives, all takes on life, are different yet equal. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I decide that it seems illogical to think we are the only intelligent forms of life. It's weird how we judge intelligence depending on our own selves. Yes, an octopus does not have the intelligence of a human, but then again, we don't have the intelligence of an octopus!
