Indulge in the awe-inspiring elegance of the IBEX creation by the renowned artist, Dino Valls. Liber Fulguralis is a breathtaking five-piece masterpiece that goes beyond the limits of imagination. With each brushstroke, Valls weaves captivating interwoven narratives, stretching across time and space, inviting you into a thought-provoking dialogue.
Dino Valls was born in Saragossa, Spain, in the year 1959. Sixteen years later, Valls taught himself to paint in oils, building on his childhood love of drawing. In 1982, Valls earned his degree in medicine and surgery and then focused solely on his painting career.
This impressive, five-piece IBEX masterpiece from Dino Valls goes beyond the limits of imagination. Liber Fulguralis showcases multiple stories in time and space, forming a thought-provoking dialogue.
The painting depicts Greek myths, particularly the tales of Hybris and Nemesis, and examines humanity’s place in the world and the possibility of its extinction.
The right side depicts the human race’s rapid scientific and technological development. The left side of the painting symbolizes the danger of Hybris, meaning human pride or arrogance, which can trigger the ancient and destructive power of Nemesis, depicted through lightning bolts.
The painting suggests that humans must find a balance between ambition and introspection to prevent self-destruction as they strive for progress and growth.
This female figure on the left is the Greek mythological goddess of health, Hygieia. She is shown as a victim of Nemesis, punished with lightning strikes on her shoulder for arrogantly and blindly relying on her medicine while forgetting to maintain a natural balance to ensure our human homeostasis.
The items around her neck symbolize health and balance hanging from cords. The background of the painting includes elements from Dante’s “Comedia” and the Book of Revelations, with a floor made of bones and walls covered in Latin text arranged in a spiral pattern like lightning.
The second panel exhibits the shelves of the goddess Nemesis. They depict various symbolic themes related to human consciousness, mythology, and the implications of technological advancements in the future. They serve as warnings and contemplations on the consequences of unchecked genetic and biotechnological experimentation and the potential implications of artificial intelligence in shaping the future of humanity.
The caged raven, in particular, serves as a symbol of thought and memory; the taxidermy display of the raven raises questions about the limitations and dangers of artificial reproduction of these concepts. But many more stories are hidden within this panel, begging to be explored in person.
At the top, we see ‘The Rota Fortunae,’ or Wheel of Fortune, which symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and the possibility of both success and downfall. The center image is the double personification of Nemesis and Ataraxia, symbolising a state of serene calmness. The crouched male figure represents Taxidermy and transhumanism, but also personifies Hubris.
Both figures represent the integration of technology into human biology and the potential consequences of hubris, which means human arrogance. The danger of excessive pride is explored as a theme, and the idea that inspiration can come from within rather than outside sources is emphasized.
In the water, we see the triple personification of Coronis, Elpis, and Artemis. The Shelves of Nemesis connect to their stories.
‘The Triple Itinerary on the Helicoidal Stairs’ describes a journey of self-discovery and personal growth represented by a Promethean character, who can be a scientist, explorer, artist, or similar.
The trip starts at the bottom of a staircase, symbolizing the unconscious and ancient depths of the human being, and continues up and down the stairs to reach different levels. Each level represents another aspect of life, and the personified character encounters different characters, animals, and experiences along the way. Finally, the character reaches the top level, where he is made to face the shadow of his own unconscious, as shown by that shadow theater stage, ‘Theatrum Umbrarum’.
The last, right panel is about Asclepius, a Greek god of medicine who embodies the idea of human transcendence in search of post-human immortality. He was punished by Zeus for pursuing immortality but was later converted into a constellation by his father, Apollo.
The text mentions hubris and Nemesis in ancient mythology. It describes a room with shelves containing books labeled “Liber Fulguralis” (books of lightning) and three engravings that show examples of flaying.
Dino Valls was born in Saragossa, Spain, in the year 1959. Sixteen years later, Valls taught himself to paint in oils, building on his childhood love of drawing. In 1982, Valls earned his degree in medicine and surgery and then focused solely on his painting career.
Dino’s work exhibits the significant influence of old masters and their studies of human beings, making him one of the leading Spanish representatives of avant-garde figurative art.
Valls started researching the usage of “egg tempera” in the early 1990s, modifying and adapting the methods of Flemish and Italian masters from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries to produce new works in mixtures of tempera and oil.
To investigate the human mind inside a conceptual framework replete with significant psychological significance and symbolism, his paintings elaborate and build upon ancient techniques. He does this by using formal figurative methods as the medium.
His works are painted without the aid of any photographs or live models.