Sacred Spot Series - Spade Bug 🔴 SOLD
Oil, acrylic and gold leaf in cradled wooden birch panel, 20x20x3cm.
In the Sacred Spots series, each ladybird becomes more than an insect, it becomes a tiny talisman, carrying symbols that have echoed through human history. Spades Bug explores the idea that the greatest transformations often emerge from challenge, inviting us to see adversity not as an ending, but as the fertile ground from which wisdom grows.
The ladybird itself has long been regarded as a symbol of luck, protection and quiet miracles. Across many cultures it is believed to carry blessings, appearing just when hope is needed most. Its delicate form reminds us that even the smallest creatures can hold immense significance, encouraging us to pay attention to life’s subtle signs.
Replacing the ladybird’s natural spots are the spades from a deck of playing cards. The suit of spades traditionally represents something far richer: transformation, resilience, wisdom, truth, intellect, and the cycles of death and rebirth. It speaks of shedding old identities, confronting life’s deepest lessons, and emerging stronger than before. Of all four suits, the spade asks us to embrace change rather than fear it.
A larger central spade anchors the composition, symbolising the defining challenge or truth around which all the smaller moments of growth revolve. It reminds us that every difficult chapter ultimately shapes the person we become.
Behind the ladybird sits a field of genuine gold leaf, a material historically reserved for sacred icons and illuminated manuscripts. Gold represents the eternal, the divine, and the incorruptible spirit that exists beneath the changing surface of life. Its naturally cracked surface echoes the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi: that beauty is often found in imperfection, age and experience.
Surrounding the gold is a halo of radiating lines and stars, elevating this tiny creature to the status of a modern icon. The halo suggests enlightenment and inner illumination, while the stars evoke guidance, destiny, and the vastness of the unseen forces that connect all living things.
