Sol Bailey-Barker British, b. 1987
Handbags of the Gods, 2019
Steel and resin
Variable
Further images
In Mesopotamia there are recorded legends of a heroic bringer of civilisation to humanity, a being known as Adapa, Dagon or Oannes. This mythical figure is portrayed in several forms, a fish-tailed man, an eagle-headed man or a winged man, always carrying a bag in one hand. The strange deity was considered the founder of civilisation, emerging from the waters of the Persian Gulf and bringing with him the knowledge of writing, art and sciences. This figure was not alone, rather he was said to be the leader of the seven sages known as the apkallu/abgal, all of whom were fish-men tasked with bringing civilisation to the Earth by the god Ea/Enki. This legend is at least 4500 years old, the roots of which are unknown.
The ancient site of Gobekli Tepe lies in the region of Mesopotamia where a 12,000 year old monolithic sight features depictions of hand bags. On the other side of the world at the Olmec sight of Leventa in Mexico one of the earliest representation of Quetzalcóatl (God of art & knowledge) carries a handbag, his role seen as the bringer of wisdom. In Mexico at the sight of Tula—an important regional center which reached its height as
the capital of the Toltec Empire massive statues of deities depict the mysterious hand-bag. In New Zealand a Maori myth tells of a hero who once ascended to the home of the gods and returned to earth carrying three baskets full of wisdom. Thus, much like the Göbekli Tepe handbags, the Maori handbags symbolize worship and gratitude for divinely inspired knowledge. Depictions of deities carrying handbags have also been
found in California, Sumba, Australia, Bosnia, Armenia, Egypt and the Levant. In Sol Bailey-Barker’s ongoing series ‘Handbags of the Gods’ he draws connections between these interlinked global histories of worship and mysticism, re-imagining them in a contemporary context. As with the original depictions his handbags pose a symbolic purpose, open for the viewer to hypothesize
In Mesopotamia there are recorded legends of a heroic bringer of civilisation to humanity, a being known as Adapa, Dagon or Oannes. This mythical figure is portrayed in several forms, a fish-tailed man, an eagle-headed man or a winged man, always carrying a bag in one hand. The strange deity was considered the founder of civilisation, emerging from the waters of the Persian Gulf and bringing with him the knowledge of writing, art and sciences. This figure was not alone, rather he was said to be the leader of the seven sages known as the apkallu/abgal, all of whom were fish-men tasked with bringing civilisation to the Earth by the god Ea/Enki. This legend is at least 4500 years old, the roots of which are unknown.
The ancient site of Gobekli Tepe lies in the region of Mesopotamia where a 12,000 year old monolithic sight features depictions of hand bags. On the other side of the world at the Olmec sight of Leventa in Mexico one of the earliest representation of Quetzalcóatl (God of art & knowledge) carries a handbag, his role seen as the bringer of wisdom. In Mexico at the sight of Tula—an important regional center which reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire massive statues of deities depict the mysterious hand-bag. In New Zealand a Maori myth tells of a hero who once ascended to the home of the gods and returned to earth carrying three baskets full of wisdom. Thus, much like the Göbekli Tepe handbags, the Maori handbags symbolize worship and gratitude for divinely inspired knowledge. Depictions of deities carrying handbags have also been found in California, Sumba, Australia, Bosnia, Armenia, Egypt and the Levant. In Sol Bailey-Barker’s ongoing series ‘Handbags of the Gods’ he draws connections between these interlinked global histories of worship and mysticism, re-imagining them in a contemporary context. As with the original depictions his handbags pose a symbolic purpose, open for the viewer to hypothesize
The ancient site of Gobekli Tepe lies in the region of Mesopotamia where a 12,000 year old monolithic sight features depictions of hand bags. On the other side of the world at the Olmec sight of Leventa in Mexico one of the earliest representation of Quetzalcóatl (God of art & knowledge) carries a handbag, his role seen as the bringer of wisdom. In Mexico at the sight of Tula—an important regional center which reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire massive statues of deities depict the mysterious hand-bag. In New Zealand a Maori myth tells of a hero who once ascended to the home of the gods and returned to earth carrying three baskets full of wisdom. Thus, much like the Göbekli Tepe handbags, the Maori handbags symbolize worship and gratitude for divinely inspired knowledge. Depictions of deities carrying handbags have also been found in California, Sumba, Australia, Bosnia, Armenia, Egypt and the Levant. In Sol Bailey-Barker’s ongoing series ‘Handbags of the Gods’ he draws connections between these interlinked global histories of worship and mysticism, re-imagining them in a contemporary context. As with the original depictions his handbags pose a symbolic purpose, open for the viewer to hypothesize
