Interpreting art heritage in the Golden Mountains of Altai
Image: Pave Filatov. Kalbak-Tash Rock Art Sanctuary, Altai Republic, Siberia;
Deer pecked into the rock to create a relief effect can be hard to spot with the naked eye except for during a short window of time, when they are lit by the rays of the rising sun.
Printed cards are available via my online shop. Framed originals and full range of 25 card designs are for sale at The Little Shop, North Norfolk.
Deer image (Bronze Age) Kalbak-Tash rock art sanctuary, Altai Republic See 'Deer Goddess' art in shop
'Bull' images (Bronze Age) Kalbak-Tash rock art sanctuary, Altai Republic See 'Deer Goddess' art in shop
Searching for rock art sites while interpreting on a snow leopard conservation expedition; image shows an ibex, the snow leopard's favourite prey. See snow leopard art in shop
Picking up the brush
As a translator I specialise in Scythian Animal Style Art and the rock art of Eurasia. I also paint contemporary interpretations of this arsenal of ancient imagery.
I was first inspired to paint the ancient pictorial traditions of the Altai Mountains when I was living in the Altai Republic Siberia working as an interpreter. The Altai Mountains are home to Turkic herding communities, snow leopard habitat and an immense lattice network of rock art sanctuaries, standing stones, and frozen tomb burials.
Rock Art
Translating and interpreting for archaeologists, tourists conservationists and pilgrims, I travelled into remote valleys and stunning plateaus, unique throughout the world for their beauty and high levels of biodiversity. In these landscapes I had the opportunity to see and feel Bronze Age rock art sanctuaries of such wondrous beauty, I was left totally captivated.
I began painting interpretations of Altai rock art as a way of becoming better acquainted both with the cultural history of my new home and the subject matter upon which I would often be required to translate. In the winter months, I would read archaeological reports and study maps. In summer, when the river ice had melted and the roads were passable, I would trek out to rock art sanctuaries, take photographs and make sketches in my field journal. Many of my ‘deer goddess’ cards including ‘Family,’ ‘Birthing Women,’ and ‘The Power of Two’ were painted at Kalbak-Tash rock art sanctuary which is shown in the photographs on this page.
Snow Leopards
I began researching and painting ancient Altai snow leopard images during a period in which I was interpreting on snow leopard conservation expeditions: snow leopards occurred for example in a tattoo found on the remains of an ice mummy, and another shown in combat with its prey — the wild mountain goat — stamped into a metal belt buckle (dated to the fifth century BC). It is a remarkable thing to see ancient petroglyphs of snow leopard on the rocks in the mountains and then in the same day to see images of snow leopards caught on hidden sensor cameras — and to realise that the snow leopard has found its home in these mountains for more than three thousand years.
What began as a hobby later developed into an educational outreach programme: “Painting for Preservation” and collaborative workshops for youth theatre groups held at rock art sanctuaries during the summer months.
Scythian Art
Translating museum catalogues and academic articles on Scythian Animal Style Art (the art of the tribes that occupied the Altai Highlands in the Iron Age) I discovered the fantastical stylised animal symbolism of the early nomads: stunning images of deer standing on tiptoe, gryphon, hare, and coiled tigers biting their own tail. These images were used to decorate artefacts in gold, wood, felt and even tattoos found on the remains of ice mummies buried and preserved in the Siberian permafrost.
‘Talking Art’
Both Altai rock art and Scythian Animal Style Art seems to me to hold the eye in a particular way. They appear to be saying: ‘Look! Look again! There is more to see!” Indeed the images are something of a riddle, for while archaeologists agree that the pictorial traditions of ancient Altai represent a kind of coded visual text, no-one yet has been able to decipher it.
Gold of the Great Steppe
Click here to see a recent translation project on Scythian Art: ‘Gold of the Great Steppe’ Exhibition hosted by the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge featuring gold Saka-Scythian artefacts from East Kazakhstan. Originally contracted to translate several chapters of the exhibition catalogue, I produced a set of gift cards based on the exhibits for the Fitzwilliam Museum shop available here.
Gift Cards
My artwork is inspired by deer goddess symbolism in rock art, ancient nomadic tattoos, snow leopards of ore and gold artefacts from the Altai Mountain region of East Kazakhstan. Printed cards are available via Altai Pilgrim online shop. Framed originals and the full range of 25 card designs are for sale at The Little Shop, North Norfolk. If you would like to speak with me directly about my art, a talk or workshop, please get in touch.
Book Project
I am in the process of writing a memoir — a personal response to the ancient imagery of the Altai Mountains. Read a short extract here. I had thought to use my field diary sketches as illustrations for the book but they turned out to be far too numerous for this to be impractical. Instead they are printed as gift cards. I like to think of them now setting out on journeys of their own.