I have been asked several times about the origins of infinipi and the symbolism behind the pieces so I figure I’d just write it down in case anyone wants to take the time to read it.
I am generally speaking, quite introverted and keep to myself most of the time. I was never part of the popular kids’ groups, nor did I really care to be. I always liked to draw, paint, build stuff with my hands; basically anything that would allow for my creativity to find a way through. My art somehow resonated with people. I didn’t set out to share it or make a point of showing it off, but when people saw it, there was always feedback and insight.
For many years I stifled my urge to draw and paint, and write with the nuances of daily life. My personal life became more and more chaotic, a turmoil of repressed emotions and very real frustrations all covered in a layer of non-communication. Antidepressants and alcohol (not necessarily together nor in excessive amounts, but definitely more than “healthy” levels) helped mask the charade for several years.
One day my doctor walked up to me and essentially pulled the handbrake on me while i was driving 100mph. The words were simple. STOP. Whatever it is you are doing; STOP. That was followed by a whole explanation of the “why”-which included words like hospital, pain, and a very concerned look from what was usually a very sweet and kind face. At that point as cliche as it may sound, something deep in me clicked- I had to start a very hard process of introspection and really dig deep inside to change all that which I had assembled over the years through some warped self-imposed tunnel vision. Among other things, art came to the rescue.
I felt like I needed to find an alias to use for my artwork… I had been working on lots of doodles and sketches while working on inner pain, lots of mixed emotions and primarily my inability to process those feelings because of the decades of experience in squashing and diminishing them. My art again was becoming a channel for communication on several different levels and the alleviation that it has brought is priceless. I started posting pictures on my personal social media accounts but I quickly realized that I didn’t want to be directly associated to my work quite yet. So there started the search for a “name” that could work as an alias. I started with the objects and themes that were most pertinent and prevalent in my pieces… fish, struggle, lettering, love, infinity, meditation, eastern philosophy(tao, qi, chi), and ephemerality of everything. Fishy, fichi, infinichi, are some of the names that I recall conjuring up and “fichi” stuck for a little while, but it didn’t take long to realize it meant “figs” in Italian so the hashtag was a mess. The following day I was running (my usual morning routine) and was in a state of flow during the run…. Infinity InfiniTT InfinityPi no, that’s InfinityPie but wait… Infinity and Pi, what if I just merge them… and then it came to me InfiniPi !! ( pronounced infini-pee )
The Twitter handle was in use, but the Instagram wasn’t, and that’s what I wanted to use anyway. I finally had a name!
the first mosaic
TT / Pi / π
We all know Pi from our math class, we remember it has to do with circles and we remember it as 3.14. The thing is it’s a lot more than 3.14, the value for Pi is not an exact number. Not only, but it’s a non-repeating number. Now, if you take those digits and convert them to letters… So, say we use a simple translation:
1=A 2=B 3=C … 26=Z.
when we take the infinite continuation of those digits within pi and convert it using the translator we just “invented”, it will spell out essentially every word in the dictionary. EVERYTHING. Words which when joined, become sentences which when joined, become conversations. Letters which when joined spell out names and places. And when you take it one step further and you start thinking about things you wished you said to people which are no longer in front of you… well that too is within Pi. Yes, 3.14159265359….. or not?
Infinity / ∞
As per Wikipedia: Infinity represents something that is boundless or endless or else something that is larger than any real or natural number. Those who are religiously inclined would say God is infinite, or those who are more grounded in science would say the universe is infinite. To me, the notion of infinity applies to anything that can’t be measured to an exact value. A dream, love, a kiss – a real one, a hug, a sigh…. How long do those truly last? Time is a concept that we as humans have associated numbers to to be able to attempt to quantify it, but those numbers are all relative to something… the solar cycle, the lunar cycle, the span of a “day”…. all which need a context in which to mean something. In the absence of that context lies infinity. No matter how much, you can always “1 up” it.
With respect to it’s shape, I always see the left loop as the PAST, the right loop as the FUTURE, and the intersection in the middle is the PRESENT.
Fish (in general) and Koi
The fish come in two varieties as they do in nature – salt water and fresh water. The salt water fish that show in my pieces are usually reef fish of the tropics where I grew up. I am a very passionate reef aquarium fanatic and strive to recreate those beautiful aquatic gardens at home and painting or making a mosaic is my tribute to them.
The Koi fish, or Japanese carp is one that I also have always had a passion for. They are beautiful fish and the serenity that a Koi pond brings is immeasurable. The koi symbolizes several different different things which all have resonated with me over the years but even more so over the recent past. The Koi symbolizes perseverance in adversity- willpower, the strength of purpose, and intent. In Buddhism they represent courage, and courage is basically grabbing fear by the balls and walking with it. It can hurt, but it makes you that much stronger.
There is also meaning in the direction the koi is swimming and it’s color… I wont go into detail as Google can answer all of that for you, but in my case, there are 2 reasons my koi design looks as it does;
The koi turning – This symbolizes the point i my life when my doctor said STOP. It is where I took a hard look at everything in my life and decided to change my ways.
The color has blue in it – besides being my favorite color, Blue symbolizes the the oceans, rivers, and lakes which are serene and always have brought peace to my soul.I have different shades of blue, yellow/golden, which represent the sun and beach, and the greens born of mixing the two. Serenity. The zen and presence of staring at a calm ocean. The reassurance of staring into a loved one’s eyes and feeling connected- one soul to the other.
The Moon
The moon symbolizes all that can’t be seen. To me, the queen of tides, the queen of seasons, of moods , whether you see her or not, she’s always there looking over you.
Asian Symbols and Figures
Tao, the symbols for chakras, the lotus flower, and countless other asian culture symbolism and items always make their way into my work because the continent holds a very special place in my heart having grown up there. I also tend to follow Asian philosophy much more so than a “western” train of thought.