SE Academic Review 2023

61 ACADEMIC REVIEW 2023

Hokusai’s The Great Wave is also a depiction of nature that holds a symbolic and secondary meaning within it. This work is a Japanese woodblock print created in 1830. This print depicts Japanese fishermen in long boats about to be engulfed by a huge wave, and in the background stands Mount Fuji. This mountain provides the Japanese with water and was revered like a god by them. This suggests there are elements of symbolism within the print as Mount Fuji was a symbol of national identity, with the Japanese respecting and associating themselves with it. The small wave in the foreground of the print also mimics the shape of Mount Fuji. This further emphasises the mountain’s importance and the Japanese pride associated with it. We can also see the fishermen’s boats are about to be overwhelmed by the great wave, potentially killing them. This suggests the work does have a secondary meaning as it teaches us that nature is dangerous and out of human control, symbolising its infinite power and destruction. Dürer’s Adam and Eve also has a symbolic and secondary meaning. This work is an engraving made in 1504 depicting the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In this work Dürer has re-framed the biblical setting by putting it in a Northern forest. Erwin Panofsky has described the work as encompassing many ‘iconographic features’. An example of this is the snake symbolising evil, and the tree symbolising knowledge, just as they did in the Garden of Eden. These are examples of symbolism already embedded within the biblical story, however Dürer adds further symbolism through the use of other animals. For example, he includes a parrot to represent the Virgin Mary and a goat to represent lust.

One depiction of nature that does include a secondary meaning is Sam Taylor Wood’s A Little Death . This work is a 35mm video installation created in 2002. It depicts a dead hare decomposing over nine weeks. Sam Taylor-Wood said it shows ‘all material abundance ends in death and decay’. This suggests there is a symbolic meaning embedded within this work as it serves as a memento mori , reminding us death is inevitable. The speed of the video is very fast and dramatic. This shows how quickly something can become unrecognisable, symbolising the rapid cycle of life and death within nature. Sam Taylor-Wood had cancer twice before creating this work. This suggests the work does have secondary/symbolic meaning embedded within as her own experience of being close to death could be represented, meaning this is not just a depiction of nature but rather something of more personal value to the artist. Another depiction of nature that has a secondary or symbolic meaning embedded within is Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds . This work consisted of over 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds. It was located in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall and was created in 2010. Ai Weiwei grew up in communist China under Chairman Mao’s tough reign. These were times of great hardship with many people left starving. During these times the sunflower seed was a cheap and healthy staple shared among friends. The seeds were described by the Tate as ‘seeds of hope’ which suggests this work does have a symbolic meaning as these seeds symbolise hope in times of hardship, allowing Ai Weiwei to reflect on his youth and remind people of the difficulties the Chinese people faced. Juliet Bingham has described this work as ‘beautiful and though-provoking’. During the Cultural Revolution Mao saw himself as the sun and the people of China as sunflowers looking up to him. This suggests the work does have a symbolic meaning with the sunflower seeds representing society and the people. This idea is enhanced by the fact that each seed is individual as they were all hand painted, presenting the seeds as diverse and unique just as society is.

“ ...its purpose is to make people think and reflect on what the seeds stand for... ”