Painting the nine worlds: Norse cosmology in contemporary works

Norse cosmology offers a rich visual language: branching paths, luminous thresholds, towering forests and mysterious figures inhabiting worlds beyond ordinary perception. Contemporary artists can translate these inherited myths without illustrating a single canonical scene, allowing the nine realms to become emotional, psychological and spiritual landscapes.

Imelda Almqvist approaches Norse imagery through shamanic painting, combining mythology with mathematics, language and journeys through the inner world. Her works invite viewers to move between physical landscapes and imagined realms, discovering personal meaning in symbols shared across cultures, histories and dream traditions.

Myth made visible

The nine worlds are often described as separate levels of existence, connected by the cosmic tree Yggdrasil. In paintings, this structure can become a composition of roots, crowns and bridges rather than a literal diagram. Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim and Hel may appear as colour, atmosphere or symbolic encounters.

Imelda’s reflections on sacred landscapes on canvas explain how particular places carry power through memory, ritual and immersion in nature. A painted landscape can therefore function as both environment and threshold, inviting the viewer to enter a story without depicting every mythological detail.

For Australian audiences, the idea of a landscape holding spiritual significance resonates with many cultural traditions, although First Nations knowledges remain distinct and should never be reduced to visual analogy. Gallery walks in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as intimate studio openings in Brisbane and Adelaide, provide spaces where this layered approach can be encountered personally.

A visual grammar of crossing

Contemporary works frequently use lines as pathways. A thin curve may suggest a root, river, journey or connection between realms, while repeated marks can evoke runes without functioning as a decipherable text. Colour then creates movement: cold blues for distant spaces, amber for inner fire and mineral greens for concealed worlds.

The Noiseborder Ensemble offers a relevant parallel through its sound-led and interdisciplinary practice. When painting, voice and experimental music meet, the nine worlds can be experienced sequentially rather than viewed all at once. Sound becomes another threshold, carrying rhythm, vibration and spatial ambiguity into an exhibition.

Such work sits comfortably within Australia’s appetite for immersive cultural events, from small-gallery installations to weekend art markets. Collectors can encounter an individual canvas at a local fair and then explore its larger conceptual framework through talks, performances or a quieter viewing at home.

Animals as relational guides

Animals in Norse mythology are not simply decorative motifs. Ravens carry news, wolves accompany the dangerous pathways of the forest, and serpents connect different levels of reality. Their behaviour can communicate qualities that human figures cannot: watchfulness, instinct, guardianship, cunning or transformation.

In her discussion of animal spirit guides, Imelda presents animals as active allies in shamanic painting. A brushstroke shaped by a raven’s wing or a wolf’s movement may help the artist enter a particular imaginative register, creating a relationship between instinct and intention.

This perspective encourages care rather than symbolism for its own sake. A walk through the Blue Mountains or Dandenong Ranges can similarly sharpen attention to movement and habitat, but Australian wildlife should not be inserted into Norse narratives as equivalents. Each tradition deserves its own context, while shared wonder can remain a point of respectful encounter.

Plants, fire and ritual care

Botanical subjects give sacred imagery another material dimension. Mugwort appears throughout European folklore as a protective and visionary plant, while mandrake has long been associated with dangerous potency and magical transformation. In contemporary painting, both can represent thresholds between the known and the unknown.

Imelda’s account of mandrake and mugwort allies shows how plants can become collaborators in ritual work through observation, preparation and symbolic association. The pigment carries more than colour: it records a relationship developed through attention and respect for the plant’s historical associations.

Responsible sourcing is essential, particularly for Australian gardeners visiting specialist nurseries in Melbourne or Adelaide. Ritual interest should never override ecological or First Nations cultural protocols. Wild harvesting, unsafe ingestion and the treatment of introduced medicinal plants as ancient Indigenous practice require careful avoidance rather than romantic imitation.

Light, geometry and the art market

Northern lights have inspired artists for centuries, but their appeal lies partly in the difficulty of fixing such brightness in an image. For travellers first acquainted with aurora photography, aurora camera settings illustrate how exposure, equipment and atmospheric conditions shape the visual record. Paintings offer another way to translate that elusive light into colour and rhythm.

Mathematics provides a complementary structure. Mirrored forms, spiral systems, measured intervals and imperfect symmetry can suggest the connected order of the Norse realms without turning the canvas into a chart. Language and symbolic notation add further layers, allowing meaning to remain active and open to interpretation.

Australian collectors looking at available works can examine pricing, dimensions, subject matter and framing alongside the imagery itself. Limited editions and one-of-a-kind paintings suit both established buyers and those entering sacred art for the first time. Insured delivery, careful packing and clear provenance remain essential when works travel between Australian homes, studios and galleries.