Ancient characters were offerings to the divine — abstractions and simplifications of
the myriad phenomena of the natural world. While the origins of the written script we
use today can be traced to oracle bone inscriptions in East Asia, the impulse to create
“monji” — primal marks of meaning — arose across civilizations. From the cave
paintings of Altamira to the hieroglyphs of Egypt, such signs emerged from a shared
human recognition of the sacred.
Initiation does not seek to evolve these ancient forms forward, but rather to reverse
their course — to allow the written sign to regress, to shed refinement, and to
approach its original presence. Centered on animal motifs, the series turns further
back in time, beyond structured language, offering a quiet prayer to the vastness of
nature.In an age defined by progress and economic advancement, humanity has
pursued continual evolution in search of a better life. Yet this work poses a question:
might there be value, at times, in moving backward — in returning to origins —
in order to see more clearly?