This is quite a painting. It is one of Bert’s best abstract paintings. It’s not only quite dramatic in terms of its composition and visual interest but it is also extremely conceptual.
Bert Ernie didn’t hold back with this one. He went flat out with his criticism of Christianity.
Bert hates all religious belief systems. That doesn’t translate to he hates all religious people. In fact he feels a great deal of pity for them.
Most of the edges are naked MDF board.
Dimensions: 92x50cm
Painted: 2009
Materials: Acrylic and enamel on MDF board
Private collection
The story behind Garden of Eden
I am a man who has always lived; and will always be alive. I watched the emergence of the cosmos out of a primordial soup of atoms, and I also observed the appearance of humanity. I was there when Adam and Eve made love in the Garden of Eden. Depicted here is the loving embrace of Adam, who holds Eve in his arms. They are both naked and have just spent many hours making hot, passionate love. They intend to spend many hours more.
The reality is that what humans should cherish the most – has become a weapon for religious zealots to use to gain power over the weak and fearful.
Unfortunately, Christians have come to corrupt the very nature of human sexuality with their rules and punishments. The religious elite only seeks to obtain power over others, and their most powerful weapon is human sexuality. They have burnt people at the stake, crushed their skulls with rocks, and thrown in prison those that they deemed to have committed the original sin.
I absolutely reject all religious belief as literally a mental illness. To believe in an imaginary God is a sign of mental retardation in my humble opinion. I seek to enlighten people of the actual reality of human existence with abstract expressionist paintings like Garden of Eden.
Bert Ernie
Detail views of abstract painting Garden of Eden
