Title:Zen Garden Nude – 1998

Artist: Martine Jacobs Medium: Digital collage and manipulation using Adobe and Paint Shop Pro on a first-generation Intel Pentium II computer Theme: Awakening, vulnerability, nature as sanctuary, spiritual embodiment

Description:

Zen Garden Nude is a luminous digital artwork created by Martine Jacobs in 1998 — a visual meditation on consciousness, solitude, and the sacredness of the body. A nude figure sits quietly in a natural setting, bathed in radiant light that seems to emanate from within. Rocks, trees, and foliage surround the figure like silent witnesses, forming a tranquil sanctuary where time dissolves and awareness deepens.

The glowing aura around the head and torso suggests a moment of spiritual clarity — a merging of flesh and light, earth and essence. The figure is neither posed nor exposed, but present: vulnerable, grounded, and open to transformation. The exaggerated saturation and surreal atmosphere evoke a dream state, where the Zen garden becomes both landscape and metaphor.

This work marks a turning point in Martine’s artistic journey — a moment of digital experimentation infused with philosophical inquiry. Created with early software on a Pentium II computer, Zen Garden Nude reflects her search for new visual languages to express inner truth. It is not just a nude in nature, but a portrait of becoming — of consciousness unfolding in pixels and pigment.