"Death Ritual IV: Svartalfheim" by Troy's Work Table. Carport chalking for Saturday 28 November 2015.
Charcoal, sidewalk chalk, chalk pastels, holly, western hemlock cones, tempera paint.
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The fourth chalk art "death ritual" ties together the various themes that have run through the others.
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The bog bodies of prehistoric Denmark that have been recovered from peat bogs as natural mummies were likely victims of ritual sacrifice tied to Germanic paganism or even Norse fertility gods Frey and Freya. Tollund Man (above left) still had a noose around his neck. Grauballe Man (above right) had his throat slit before being thrown into the bog.
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The skin of the bog people turns black during natural mummification due to tanning from the various factors that contribute to mummification in the peat bog. The dark skin reminded me of the Svartálfar, the black elves, of the Norse Nine Worlds.
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After wandering about a Puget Sound peat bog, West Hylebos Wetlands Park, in order to figure out what type of vegetation grew there, I was ready to start the chalking.
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The holly is from the neighbor's holly tree growing into my yard. The alder and western hemlock cones are from tree fall along the Riverwalk Trail. I didn't want to disturb any of the vegetation in the actual peat bog.
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I also wanted to leave holly berries on the trees for the birds, so I painted them onto the concrete with a Q-Tip "brush" and red tempera paint. (Plus it was another "connection point" to other "death ritual" pieces, in particular; and to the use of tempera paint in mummification rituals, in general.)
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You can view more pictures of "Death Ritual IV" HERE.
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