Serenity

Serenity

The Dreamer Awakens

On the threshold of sleep
The dreamer awakens in me
my world is no longer what it seems
when what I see is what you feel
I live your dreams in serenity

This oil painting of water-lilies (Victoria Amazonica) in Singapore’s Botanic Gardens has a dreamy surrealist feel of a quiet dawn. I purposefully created ambiguity whether these leaves are floating on water or hovering high in the sky as UFOs. You could be tempted into thinking to see earth’s curvature in the horizon. The undulations in the bottom half of the painting could be little waves in water or ripple clouds in the sky. The plants’ colours are bright and uplifting and stand out from the soft gentle background. One of the leaves shows a ‘morning tear’, a sign of mourning that the night has passed and that its flowers had to close and hide their beauty during the day.

The present Singapore Botanic Gardens began in 1859, when the Singapore Agri-horticultural Society was granted 32 hectares of land in Tanglin area. The Victoria Amazonica water-lilies were introduced into the Botanic Gardens more than a hundred years ago. The National Archives of Singapore contain a photograph of this type of water lily from around 1900. Victoria Amazonica is the largest of the Nymphaeaceae (meaning: ‘sacred to the Nymphs’) family of water lilies. This Latin family name recalls the Nymphs of ancient Greek and Roman mythology who inhabited waterways, wells and springs. Water lilies are associated with rebirth and optimism as they return to waterways after the rains, even if they dried up the previous season. The water lily also symbolizes fertility, sexuality and creation. Victoria Amazonica is the source of various moon related legends. In one of these, an indigenous tribe believed that the moon was a goddess, who came at night and would take the most beautiful virgin girls with her and turn them into stars. A beautiful virgin named Naiá dreamed of becoming a star, despite warnings that girls taken by the goddess lost their blood and flesh in becoming stars. Naiá roamed the mountains seeking out the moon each night, so obsessed she did not sleep or eat. While resting on the edge of the lake, she saw the moon's reflection on the water, and desperately seeking the goddess, dove into the water and drowned. To reward her for this sacrifice, the goddess turned her into a star different from all the others, the "star of the waters", which is the Victoria Amazonica plant.

The Dreamer Awakens

Stay low
and let the dew
draw a blanket over you
all edges soft
even whispers stay close
a watery veil covers all beauty
and modesty becomes me
reflected in morning tears
I see the beauty within
and give thanks
with a gentle awakening