AION Sculptures by Barbara Streiff since 1998

Barbara Streiff, in her work AION, the Eternal, unites all religions and cultures through ten symbols which appear in different religions.

Primal geometry – ten symbols found in Nature - has been a spiritual awakening and an unending source of inspiration for the artist. Empowered by the symbolic energy in primal geometry, Barbara Streiff's work reflects all cultures, all religions, and all time.

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by using these symbols (gr. syn-ballein: throwing together) the different parts of the piece are brought together creating an inner connection between an image and its original form,. The panel hangs in the middle of an empty wall, whose backlighting allows the symbols to be portrayed. We aren't directly aware of the light, but rather of the reflection made by it. In the center is the Point, the symbol for creation and for the individuality of every person. Surrounding this Point is the the Star, the symbol of heavenly light and then the Circle, which represents perfection or eternity. These three symbols form the core of the panel. The Spiral winding counterclockwise radiates out from the core and represents the path which every man follows or for the labyrinth in which he is led. Time and growth are contained within the Spiral. It symbolizes the basic truth that in life we are always standing in the same place and yet always going further. The form the Circle is seen in the Spiral expanding into infinity. The Square encloses the Spiral, which creates in each of the four corners a Triangle, the symbol of heavenly power in many religions. The Lines of the Square themselves represent the path or the movement which all things make. They intersect in a point which symbolizes peace or stability within constant change. The Square represents the earth, the world, or life itself. The four corners are the four cardinal points, the four elements Earth, Air, Fire, Water, the four seasons, and so on. The horizontal parallels of the Square signify the water of life or the contact with eternity. The vertical parallels are decorated with two crosses. The Cross, the Christian symbol of the Passion, is also found on the old Celtic stones where the five points denote the higher life. At the center of the Cross is the Point, the intersection of two paths, the point of decision. The Crosses lie not in the center, but rather on the Square, and point away from the center, so that the first awareness is not of the Crosses but of the Point. The unique perfection of man is protected by the earthly rectangle from the cross, and the cross is simultaneously the symbol for the higher life as well as earthly life. At the top and the bottom are the Lightning bolts, symbolizing conception or energy which comes from the heaven above and is carried down by the iron plate to the earth below. Between the Lightning bolts the tiny stars of the cosmos are suggested by the holes cut into the plate. The Rust on the iron plate should remind one of the transciency of life to which we are all subject and show the yearning of all material things to return to their original form