Mother Earth #1 – Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal, Botanical Garden, Montréal, Québec

Mother Earth is a work created by the organizers of the Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal competiton. From the woman’s torso arises her head: a mountain nearly 15 meters tall. Flowers garland her hair. Her outstretched arm places deer in the midst of a blooming prairie where horses run free and bison graze. From her other hand flows a waterfall from which a golden eagle emerges.

Mother Earth goes by many names: To South American Indians she is "Pachamama"; Greek mythology knows her as "Gaia"; she is "Terra Mater" in Roman myth, "Mahimata" in Hinduism’s Rig Veda. For the Germanic and other Northern peoples she is called "Eorban Modor" and "Mother Earth" is the name by which North America’s First Nations celebrated her. She is universal and transcends nationalities and the ages, from the Paleolithic to today. She is the basis for everything: living beings, plant life, minerals, textiles, technology, food.

The artists were inspired by a speech reportedly delivered in 1854 by Chief Seattle during his meeting with then President of the United States Franklin Pierce on the occasion of the sale of Native land to white settlers. His words capture the essence of the privileged relationship our continent’s first inhabitants still maintain with nature:

"The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers … We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family … This shining water that moves in streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors … The water’s murmur is the voice of my father's father … The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, man, they all share the same breath …

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man … Preserve the memory of this Earth as we deliver it. And with all your strength, your spirit and your heart, preserve it for your children and love it as God loves us all."

Mother Earth also draws its inspiration from the Declaration of Interdependence written in 1992 by David Suzuki for the UN Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro that same year.

For a description of the art of Mosaiculture and of the Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal competition, please turn to the first photo in this series at:

www.ipernity.com/doc/jonathan.cohen/33872015