'The New Mythologies' is a quest to understand the contemporary ideas that shape societies and civilizations. This search involves uncovering new deities, goddesses, and powerful entities by identifying the nameless forces influencing our thoughts and actions.

 

I chose stained glass as my medium because of the historical liturgic power display that it conveys. An image is worth a thousand words, and that is something old stained glass masters and the church understood pretty early.

 

In my exploration, I wonder what beliefs today will become the new religions in the future; what is already engrained inside us without a name slowly blooming and gaining strength. What will replace Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and all the forms of monotheistic belief? Which news gods are being born in our minds to replace those from the past? And how much rejection and resistance these new ideas create before establishing themselves in society.

 

Bjoruurk is the first glass of that series.

 

Bjoruurk is my response to cinema and television's plastified version of the male gold standard. It rebels against Botox, makeup, gyms, steroids, and surgeries. It stands against patriarchy as the sole force for men's collective behaviour. It is a prayer of appraisal for our biology, humanity and its limits. Attempts to redirect our eyes to what beauty truly stands for openly criticize the sad avoidance of aging.

Bjoruurk is telluric masculinity, seeking to be easygoing and childish. It is the man reclaiming playful silliness and devoting himself to absolute masculine values: compassion, tenderness, strength, protection, kindness, vulnerability, hard work, and silliness.

As a god, Bjoruurk was born of grass, wood, mud, rocks, wind, water, and fire; he is earthly, respects his all-giving mother and cares for her. His name is a contraction of Norse for "bear," the strong rune "Uruk," an ancient bull-like animal representing man's strength and the onomatopeia of rocks crumbling and earthquake sounds. Bjoruurk laughs in the mountains, runs on the streams, roars in the falls, and swims free and naked in the lake. He rides horses and moose, tells jokes, but also goes to war if he needs to protect what is essential. Bjoruurk is always approachable but also intimidating.

Bjoruurk fucks in the forest with men and women; he flows in something more important than a narrow view of religion and gender roles. He is nature, and nature can not be held in one stage or idea to satisfy the ignorance of many. Nature takes back her course, no matter who is in the cycle.

 

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