Alessa Esteban - As Above so Below

Large oil painting incorporating hieroglyphic texts inspired by the Pyramid Texts of Unas (Saqqara, Egypt).
A contemporary interpretation of ancient funerary spells exploring the mirrored relationship between earthly and spiritual realms.

ARTWORK DETAILS

Artist: Alessa Esteban
Nationality: Mexican (based in Vienna, Austria)

Title: As Above So Below
Series / Exhibition: The Lioness Gate
Year: 2019

Medium: Oil on canvas
Technique: Hand-painted original oil painting incorporating Egyptian hieroglyphic transcription

Dimensions:
Image size: 170 × 138.5 cm
Canvas size: 170 × 138.5 cm
Framed size: Unframed (canvas only)

Signature: The artwork will be hand-signed by the artist on the verso (back) upon purchase.

Edition: Unique, one-of-a-kind original painting.

Description & Artistic Context

As Above So Below was created for the exhibition “The Lioness Gate” (Vienna, 2019) presented with Dessous Cultural Space.

The painting incorporates hieroglyphic inscriptions inspired by the Pyramid Texts of the Pyramid of Unas in Saqqara, Egypt, among the oldest known sacred texts of ancient Egyptian civilization. These inscriptions were traditionally used as funerary spells intended to guide the soul of the deceased through the transition to the afterlife.

The title As Above So Below refers to the ancient philosophical principle that the celestial and earthly realms mirror one another. In this work, the hieroglyphic texts evoke the connection between life and death, the physical and astral planes, and the journey of consciousness between these dimensions.

During the exhibition, the artist presented the translations of the hieroglyphic texts written directly on the gallery floor in English, allowing visitors to observe the correlation between the original ancient inscriptions and their contemporary interpretation.

By integrating these texts into a large-scale oil painting, the work creates a visual dialogue between ancient sacred language and contemporary artistic expression, transforming the composition into both a pictorial surface and a symbolic field of meaning.

Artist Background

Alessa Esteban is a Mexican visual artist based in Vienna whose work frequently bridges contemporary painting with Egyptological research.

Alongside her artistic career, she has pursued studies in art history and archaeology at Tor Vergata University in Rome, additional studies related to the archaeology of the Giza Plateau through Harvard University online programs, and training in reading and interpreting Egyptian hieroglyphs with archaeologists working in Mexico.

Her work often incorporates ancient Egyptian symbolic systems, sacred texts, and mythological references, translating them into contemporary visual compositions that explore spirituality, cosmology, and archetypal imagery.

Exhibition History

Exhibited in:
“The Lioness Gate”, Dessous Cultural Space, Vienna, 2019

Provenance

Studio of the artist, Vienna

Exhibited at Dessous Cultural Space, Vienna (2019)

Available directly from the artist

Documentation

Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist included

Exhibition documentation available upon request

Condition

Excellent condition.

Shipping

The painting is sold unframed.

For safe international transport, the canvas will be professionally removed from the stretcher and shipped rolled in a protective art shipping tube.