English translation of the article:

“Lift of Belief!

One of the interesting discoveries at the exhibition-award of visionary art “Visionary Art Award” held in Moscow at the end of March of 2018 was the work of a young artist from Germany Shia Weltenmenge.
She is not as they say today a “professional artist”. Moreover, the young visionary artist came into sphere of spiritual painting from difficult for our understanding field of high science. Shia Weltenmenge graduated from Stuttgart University with a degree in computer, mathematical linguistics and continues to work in science sphere combining it with painting. However, she herself does not see any contradictions here. Engaged into processing and description of natural languages for computer systems, design of algorithms and development of software application for processing of linguistic information, Shia considers her art as a method or language that gives her the possibility to deliver information from other unknown to us worlds Notwithstanding her interest to transcendence, the painter is able to plunge into difficult social-ecological realities of the planet Earth: she collects money from sales of her paintings for Association Guardians de l'Amazonia. The aim of the Association is to give local people of Amazonia – Indians – the possibility of land buyout which is unmercifully exploited now.
Her artistic name – Shia Weltenmenge – the painter also associates with what she does in painting. She called herself Shia when she was only two years old and she could not pronounce her full name Silvia. "Since that time even my parents started to call me that" - jokes the artist. Weltenmenge translated from German means “Variety of Worlds” and this is exactly what Shia conveys to us in her works.
As opposed to many other visionary painters, who often use in their works recognizable iconography, Shia Weltenmenge delivers to spectators her own images of other worlds, those that she observes by herself and where she has her own personalized experience. We will not find in her paintings familiar to us figures of winged lions and people, well-known pharaohs and gods of the ancient Egypt, India or China. We can also barely find here those same universal symbols where, if to believe the texts of Z. Freud and KG Jung, complex transcendental realities, like lotus, swastika, or holy roots encrypted. And still, images on the paintings of Shia Weltenmenge represent the world of archetypes pulled out of the depths of consciousness. In her work we see something vaguely familiar to each of us, something that appears on the edge of wake and sleep that really opens the doors to other worlds.
Weltenmenge worlds are very intimate and at the same time images of these worlds connected with perception of most of us with some thin similar to summer gossamer, threads. Despite the absence of familiar mythological objects in her paintings, we understand quite well what they are about. Uncertain sensation, familiar to everyone; something once experienced and gradually forgotten, as if just having woken up we try to remember a dream sleeping away from us and cannot possibly capture it…
“Painting was always a part of my life, - says the artist, - I started to draw as early as I could hold a pencil in my hand. Later I cherished a dream that one day I will be able to create huge paintings as old masters did, to bring to our modern life at least some small aspects of those amazing worlds living in my fantasy. I have not reached such state yet. My skills are not yet developed enough. But I am on my way to it”.
In ancient Hindu texts it is said that the material reality, as we perceive it in everyday life, is the creation of cosmic illusion, maya. However most of us are settled for this very version of the Universe, commonly even without realizing that they live in “matrix”. This is so cold “World of external reality”, familiar to us, as perceived through the feelings of physical body. Still, there are other worlds for example our personal inner world connected with the unique perception of existence, based on our own emotions, knowledge, dreams. No one will deny its realness, because each of us is an individuality (or as ancients used to say – selfhood) formed in personal life process.
Besides, there are also upper worlds, access to which is open not to many. They are beyond the usual sensorial perception, they are perceived only in special altered states of mind. Exactly about these worlds KG Jung spoke of as archetypal sphere of collective unconscious. Creatures, inhabiting such spheres have extraordinary energies and sacred auras. Such creatures are usually described and presented as gods, great spirits of the Earth, etc.
Each of these worlds has its own language. Our usual verbal communication is common only for External world. In Internal and Upper worlds there are other forms of communication, most often by way of symbols, senses (emotions), and intuitions.
However, communication between these worlds is quite possible! Shia Weltenmenge believes that this universal language is spoken through her paintings.
Referring to incomplete (as the artist herself thinks) work “Elohim” we sink into some night fantasy state. What we see on the painting is well known to those who had an experience of so called “going out from the body”, out-of-body experience. Heavy bookcases, long rows of shelves going into smoking darkness of the room with high arch ceiling supported by ancient columns, vague contour of which lightened by mysterious spherical luminous cloud. There are two humanlike figures in the center. More specifically the woman is outlined; the second creature seems to have not yet decided either to be a human or to remain some unshaped substance. Over them there is a shining shadowy moonlight sphere spreading the energy bursts into the darkness. Burning Hebrew inscription shows to the spectator that this is Elohim himself, the god of ancient Semitic people whose name according to Jewish secret teaching Kabbalah is one of the ten sacred names of the Creator, plural number of Eloah or El (this name stands on the back of one of the books in the closet of mysterious room). However along with Hebrew letters around shining sphere is winding like Saturn rings the sacred rune inscription and Sanskrit signs, the most sacred writings of humanity telling about the Only for all tribes and nations name of the God. And the power of Creator is flowing into the woman who leaned back soaking it up with all her being. Who is this woman? Isn't it an artist herself absorbing the power of Creator and peeling off the needless shell? Aren't we the witnesses of the “birth” of an artist as a creator of her own paintings? And so the ancient quote of Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Great) is shown here – “That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below”.
“Music of the spheres” - is a single metaphysical painting consisting of six graphical pictures. The artist created this work spontaneously without any sketches or projects trusting her own intuition. And, while creating her painting, she herself was often amazed at the result. Shia describes her state during this work as a sense of some channel suddenly opened above and directed her hand making her fix on paper something coming from Upper worlds. “At some moment the words sounded in my head: «Tears of Freya». I had no idea where they came from - confessed the artist. – But I liked them and used the words as the name of the painting. Later I found out that there was a legend about Norse goddess Freya who cried with golden tears after her husband Odin had left.”
In work “Without fear” we see a self-portrait of the artist herself penetrated with cosmic energies. We see her as an accomplished master who has known the power of creation without fear, who is gazing at us with wise calmness from wrapped by blue darkness mysterious space. Over the planet which she herself is a part of, "The Star named the Sun" is ascending, darkness gradually vanishing under its rays, skeleton-like shadows passing into silence. And we, the spectators know that the morning of new Creation is coming soon, another space age is approaching, another aeon which will change all boundless Universe.
Attending to the art of Shia World Crowd, we understand that the world of archetypes which is usually not perceived by people of External world, still not totally separated from material Universe. It, like a Great Dragon, is tightly intersected with it, playing a major role in its creation. As Shia Weltenmenge thinks the creative work of Visionary art painters is something that joins the worlds together, securing the way of communication between them and acting like a unique universal language which is able to express something unclear that cannot be spoken by the words at the same time creating bridges widening the limits of those worlds. The one who understood that and having altered one's mind is able to give oneself up to his Creation fade away in it becoming a metaphysical projection, becomes itself a Metacreator! For such people opens the lift to other worlds – that same lift visionary painter Shia Weltenmenge talking about through her art: - Welcome to the lift of Belief!

Dmitry ZHUKOV ”