Nagual

• Prize
  Gold in Fine Art/Collage, Silver in Fine Art/Special Effects
• Photographer
  Mikhail Batrak

The series is influenced by the study of Raja Yoga and the work of Carlos Castaneda, who wrote about his search for freedom, partly through his experiences of being taught by the shaman Don Juan. Castaneda explores the concept of the nagual, a name for the unknown, or that which cannot be directly understood by the human mind. The nagual is positioned in contrast to the tonal; that which can be perceived by the human senses or comprehended by the mind. Don Juan described the tonal as a small island surrounded by the darkness of nagual. The series probes this darkness, using a deliberately limited palette of black and white with muted colour tints. Nagual explores ideas of transformation and the unknown through the artist’s surreal images, many of which refer to transformation, evolution and states of metamorphosis. “We are men and our lot is to learn and to be hurled into inconceivable new worlds. Seeing is for impeccable men. Temper your spirit now, become a warrior, learn to see, and then you’ll know that there is no end to the new worlds for our vision” - Carlos Castaneda, A Separate Reality.