Steph Goodger

The Alchemical Universe: A successful invention, an ideology with a structure that has all the elements functioning together, completing a whole with its own rationality, this is appealing to me as a painter.  The theories of Robert  Fludd, Seventeenth Century English alchemist,  aspired to this kind of completeness; he created a beautiful theory of a universe which fitted together perfectly on every level.  His universe is elemental in character; all its regions and changes are material. He was concerned with different qualities of light, fineness and density of matter and different kinds of movement.  The ‘Celestial Monochord’ is the instrument which he visualized to create the sound of the turning of the planets, tuned of course by God.  He had all the notes worked out exactly, so he must have heard the sound of the universe in his head.  Fludd was one of the last of his kind and his theories were some of the most developed of the alchemists.  He lived at the same time as Kepler and they engaged in furious debates.  Fludd adhered to the geocentric universe and the fixed ideas of Catholicism where as Kepler was part of the new scientific era.  Fludd is inspirational to me, the last of a dying bred of beautiful thinkers, whose ideas can never hold the same kind of value again, but can be appreciated for their rigorous thoroughness, detail and imagination.   I felt the need to try and define his descriptions of light, density and movement in paint.

The Architects of Judgement: This painting is based on the universe as created by Dante, with references to the Book of Revelations, by John the Baptist.  Dante drew much from John so the connection seemed natural.  Dante and Fludd have much in common in that they both undertook the enormous task of defining the universe to a point of rational completion in every detail.   This painting, in contrast with the elemental nature of The Alchemical Universe of Robert Fludd, is about an allegorical universe, a story of judgment, punishment and reward, where the universe is like a giant theatre.  The painting again pays homage to a dying world, on the cusp of change. The Medieval age came to an end in a blaze of hysteria.  At the extreme peak of this hysteria, the world was a pantomime of outrageous characters, the darkest moment before thinkers like Fludd brought light back into the world.  Absurd theatricality, both horrific and humorous, is a common theme of my paintings.  Dante’s Comedy inspired the fabulistic Fish Hell series.  Creating an entire universe in a painting is an irresistible task for a romantic thinker, whose inspirations come from those who have attempted such an awesome and ultimately impossible task.

Steph Goodger 2007