"SOL INVICTUS" - THE UNCONQUERED SUN
Within its radiant circle, Sol Invictus stands and stays, an eternal light assuring, shadows always fade away
Size: 60 x 48 inches
Medium: Coloured glass, gold glass on acrylic substrate
iNSPIRATION
My visit to Pompeii in the summer of 2009 left me humbled by the endurance of beauty—mosaics rising from ash to remind us that art survives even when empires fall. Destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, Pompeii is world-renowned for its exquisitely preserved Roman floor mosaics, many of which were found buried under volcanic ash.
Inspired by the ancient solar mosaics of the Mediterranean world, Sol Invictus emerged from my long-standing fascination with symbols that outlast empires. I reimagined the classical solar design by placing a crescent moon within the sun’s centre. This quiet shift reflects my belief that endurance is never singular—that light and shadow, strength and gentleness, day and night, coexist at the heart of all things. Sol Invictus grew from that idea: the unconquered sun rises not alone, but in companionship with the moon, creating a symbol that is deeply personal in its meaning.
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eXPRESSION
At the centre of the circular design, a new motif is born: a sun–moon union rendered in radiant golds. Warm terracottas represent the sun while silvers, alongwith cool celestial blues, represent the moon. This pairing becomes the heart of the piece — a meeting of day and night, energy and stillness — anchoring the intricate geometry that spirals outward.
Around this glowing core, waves of cobalt and ultramarine echo the Mediterranean waters of the ruins that inspired it, while the surrounding arabesques and flourishes in citrus yellow, deep reds and coral breathe contemporary warmth into an ancient form.
In reinterpreting a once-functional floor into a vivid wall mosaic, the work transforms history into presence — honouring the Roman roots of the pattern while allowing modern colour to shift its meaning, inviting the viewer to see an old world through a renewed light.