To my favourite artist, H.R. Giger, I wish a very happy birthday and blissful days and nights to come. I look forward to visiting the museum and bar in Switzerland again, as well as the day I present the second book, adorned with his art…
With endless awe and fascination,
/Ilhana
(view from the Giger bar in Gruyères, Switzerland, August 2012)
Who is she? Is she a mirage? Where is she from? Where is she? H.R. Giger, her creator, answers one of these questions in “Necronomicon I“, where he explains the origins of his Schacht series, stemming from his dreams and vivid imagination involving a basement in his family house in Chur, that was basically connected to an underground network of tunnels (subsequently closed due to danger of collapse).
Ever since I first saw this painting (its reproduction), there was something that drew me to it. To Her. Then I finally saw Her, the original, at the entrance to the first floor of the Giger museum in Gruyères, Switzerland. Even with all the Aliens around, these perfect beings, Schacht VII spoke to me. Her haunting beauty never left my mind, my thoughts. So, I came back home and wrote about my travels, frequently including Her in my writing.
And then, an idea in my mind… and an amazing contact with Giger’s agent, Mr. Leslie Barany, which made the past year truly magnificent for me. Now She is also the cover for my second collection of poetry, out in spring 2014. I wish to thank once again Mr. Barany, as well as my favourite artist, Mr. H.R. Giger, for this incredible honour. I do not walk on Earth like other mortals. Now I am where She is. I am She.
I got what I wished for – New Year’s Day is finally here. During the past few weeks I was literally swamped by the enormous amount of work + finishing the manuscript of my second book, but now it’s finally done and I can rest and celebrate everything I’ve accomplished in the year that’s about to end, especially something that is so out of this world that I will need a new post just to properly put it into words – soon, I promise!
To all of you out there, wherever you are, I wish a happy New Year and the best in 2014.