The paintings are the development from ceramic illustration of more personal work that involves the exploration and re-interpretation of these ancient Maya symbols; the work seeks to express their transformative power and sacred quality. The forms slide and float on ‘the edge’ between two dimensional design and three dimensional shapes. The pictorial space is an ambiguous combination of decorative flat surfaces and the depths of the waters of the Underworld and infinite space.

To the ancient Maya bright colours were the mark of a transcendent state; the paintings combine the hot bright hues of the tropical flora and fauna with Maya colour symbolism - red was life in the Underworld, blue symbolized royalty, the sky and water, green represented life, growth the world tree or centre of the world, and the Maya’s most important precious stone, jade, yellow was the colour of growing corn.

According to CG Jung , the human mind and its symbols, on a deep and mythic level, is the same everywhere, in all cultures; the symbols both effect and reflect a transformation of consciousness. The paintings are an attempt to understand and express the complexity of Maya shamanic symbolism and how it parallels Jungian psychology.