Aylsa McHugh

Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2024 - Finalist

_{[Image courtesy of the artist. Photo by Christian Capurro]}

Artist Statement

Numen is the result of my research and interest in representing the ineffable phenomenon of the numinous experience. Numinous, a concept coined by German theologian Rudolf Otto, describes “persons, things or situations having a deep emotional resonance, psychologically associated with experiences of the self - referring to a dynamic agency or effect independent of the conscious will.” According to Otto, it possesses a specific yet inexpressible quality. Usually, this feeling or the source of it, is interpreted as God, but for some it might be the Absolute, the Ancestors, the uncanny, or the supernatural. This 'particular' state can take many forms - it can cause one to feel small and insignificant, or the self can cease to identify with the individual body and expands to become one with Everything. I am interested in the universal truths of these transient feelings and experiences.