Stephen Parker, PhD: Images from the Cave of the Heart

Steve Parker is an artist and Jungian psychologist, who’s been living in the interior of Alaska for almost forty years.

This installation, framed in copper, is a story in images and words about a journey of healing after a severe heart attack. The story begins with Chiron, the mythical centaur who had a permanent wound in his knee; chronic illness can feel like a similar, never-ending wound. The forty images and narrative convey a surprising story of alchemical transformation.

Dreams, stones, pelicans, and eggs were all participants in this journey. In this long process of dealing with mortality, Steve has constructed an underground stone cave, a labyrinth, and a stone retreat space in the birch forest where he lives.

A book on his experience, Heart Attack and Soul in the Labyrinth of Healing, was published in January 2011. Robert Bosnak, author of Tracks in the Wilderness of Dreams, writes about this book:

When the heart stops, a world comes to an end. The work of Steve Parker shows us that there is life after the end, after the heart has been attacked by death, and survived. In his remarkable reports and stunning paintings, we are moved to witness the transition from his life before to his life after as it forges its way to renewal.

A reception for the artist will be held in the gallery immediately following the New School event with Stephen Parker and Michael Lerner – Jung, Art and Healing.