ZEENA is an artist, activist and mystic currently living in Germany. What I find especially fascinating and inspiring about her is her ability to change and grow with the times. Born into daunting circumstances, she managed not only to rise above them, but to re-invent herself despite what I surmise might be abominable pulls toward lethargy and abject nostalgia.

​In one of her texts, “Demons of the Flesh” she explores the metaphysics of eroticism. Not simply focusing on Hermeticism and the usual occult fare, she also looks at the important contributions of French philosophy (in the form of Georges Bataille) and other, vital strands of evidence… ultimately sharing experiential knowledge and suggesting one use one’s own as guide.

Zeena Schreck is very beautiful. And her awareness of this is not simple, nor yet affected. She presents herself and her energy in a very straight-forward way which is refreshing in itself, but which, upon closer inspection, reveals the gentle touch of a survivor helping others survive. The first thing one does when confronted with the prospect of extinction, naturally, being human, is panic. When this happens to a group, the result is collective hysteria. Perhaps her experiences during the 1980’s allowed her to see such circumstance unfold around her (and their manipulation and co-opting by nefarious forces of self-interest) in such a way that she holds a tender regard for the possibility of others going through them as well, but she has a gentle touch, which belies a fierce mind and steely core.

ZEENA’s art is fascinating. Maintaining a lucid awareness between the mediated roles of artist and academic, theorist and practitioner, her art is yet generous enough to question such ambiguity. Her piece “Ladders” questions not only Euclidian Geometry, but the formalist expansion of Western Metaphysics it stands for. How is one to “rise” in a society based upon questionable heirarchies, where, for instance, Social Justice and Reform is not necessarily based upon the injuries sustained by victims but sometimes just as likely the power of the accused? Recalling Feudal Warfare - Caste System Dynamics and other illusory states of “Maya” the piece is yet presented in soothing tones and inviting poetics of space. It’s as if ZEENA were leaving behind an Easter Egg, something someone could enjoy at whatever level of development they had attained to in dealing with it, yet something which also continued to reward dilligent and patient effort.

The future for ZEENA will hopefully contain more expansion. It will be very lucky for the Artist community and every other group or individual she manages to touch with her sincere and powerfully articulated grace if she continues to thrive and generously shine upon us!
​
-STANLEY GEMMELL
* * * * * * *
Gallery contacts and for commissioned art by Zeena contact:   info@zeena.eu

Original post can be seen at
Stanley Gemmell's writings blog: ​http://stanleygemmell.tumblr.com/post/94193114815/zeena-is-an-artist-activist-and-mystic-currently

A Message From Zeena:

"In celebration of Harvest Season and the coming Autumn Equinox, I am very happy to share with you a newly created fine art portrait of me as the Angel of Death by the very talented artist and friend Fabiano Gagliano.
All of Gagliano's works are timeless depictions of feminine beauty at its highest spiritual ideal (a phenomenon I've coined in my book Demons of the Flesh as “the Feminine Daemonic”). His style has been honed over decades and is refreshingly free of any distractions, distortions or irritations of modern art trends or references. The minimalist, streamlined presentation and choice of colors is confident yet sensitive and beautifully classical without clichés.  

"Aside from our mutual appreciation for the same aesthetics in traditional art, and our similar histories as graphic artists for publications and band art, Gagliano is also a long-time accomplished musician and has traversed a kindred musical path as I; it's through oblique music connections from our past bands that we came to know each other. So when he asked to do a new rendition of an established photo-portrait of me, I knew that in his case it was a perfect suggestion. Based on his art education, experience, intuition and instinct, he understood not only my personal tastes but the significance and layers of the symbolism in the portrait he proposed, as it relates to my life's work.

The Augustinian quote he chose to include in the portrait, says it all:
Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi. In interiore homine habitat veritas.
'Don't lose yourself with the outside; return within. Truth dwells inside the human heart.' (loosely translated)

This scripture could also be understood as the Method which leads to spiritual Enlightenment, known in many mystical traditions variously as: Primoridial Wisdom (Vajrayana Buddhism), the Gnostics understanding of Sophia, the Quest for the Holy Grail and the process of Internal Alchemy.


Thanks to Fabiano for his inner wisdom to “see” what many cannot see, and to hopefully inspire others to “see,” with all senses, the magic of feminine beauty in all of his works - and all of life as well...

~Omnia Vincit Amor~

~Zeena     "
___________
To see more of Fabiano Gagliano's work, visit his online sites at:
www.fabianogagliano.com 
https://www.instagram.com/fabiano_gagliano/
https://www.facebook.com/FabianoGaglianoArtPage/?pnref=lhc  
https://it.pinterest.com/fabiano777/ 

Milarepa mantra chanted during meditation by Zeena for CHÖKHOR DÜCHEN, 2017.
In the Buddhist tradition, today is celebrated as the first teaching given by the Buddha Shakyamuni after attaining Enlightement. Any mantras recited on this day accumulate the positive merit ten million times. 
During the day's mantra meditations, as Zeena chanted the Milarepa mantra, birds came to listen.
The Tibetan sage Milarepa, born nearly a thousand years ago, was a powerful black magician in Tibet who renounced his sorcery ways, dedicating himself to the Dharma teachings. As a result, he become fully enlightened in one lifetime.
Milarepa is not only a source of inspiration to Zeena, who has also followed a similarly extreme path in life, but it is also into his lineage that she is initiated by her heart lama H.E. Ayang Rinpoche, one of the yogi lineage holders who has maintained Milarepa's teachings in pure, undiluted and unbroken form. 
​
Gratitude to H.E. Ayang Rinpoche for the image of Milarepa, Vajradhara and Vajrayogini used at the beginning of the video and for his wisdom and compassion which are boundless.

To learn more about the magical life of Milarepa, visit this page. ​
http://www.thranguhk.org/buddhism/en_milarepa.html 

NOW BACK IN STOCK: Designed by HEINZFELLER NILEISIST as a companion piece to the 84 page book-zine The Zaum of Zeena, by the same publisher, this t-shirt was first presented at the LA Art Book Fair last year and can be purchased on our site HERE!!!  Sizes in S, M, L & XL.  

FRANK HAINES: “I designed this shirt of Zeena as The High Priestess of Seth (which she is).
This is the first authorized Zeena shirt to exist (there have been a bunch of bootlegs) with proceeds actually going to her.
A more detailed description of the shirt as follows: 
'It's a magical talisman combining all the symbolism necessary to foster blissful union of the initiate's inner male-female erotic-war deity energies represented by Seth And His secret consort Inanna and presided over by their High Priestess in this era, Zeena.
The human mind is always at war with itself because the inner masculine-feminine polarities are not united but divided. As a result, the inner conflicts translate to outer destructive behavior and actions. ​Donning this article of clothing should be regarded as a ritual homage to the wearer's yet-to-be indestructible, non-dual state of perfect peace and spiritual completion 
​(Š-L-M ). A reminder that Liberation and Enlightenment comes when opposing forces become one.
For those not well versed in tantric practices, Gnosticism, ancient mythology and Magical Theurgy, it's also just a damn cool design to have in your collection!' 

SUPPORT FOR WORKS IN PROGRESS
Zeena is a self-funded, independent artist working entirely outside of conventional and mainstream art and music cliques.
Her livelihood and funding for current audio-visual projects rely on commissioned work, teaching, lecturing, performing, and fan-based support in sales of her previous work and donations. 

​COMMISSIONS & BOOKINGS
To book Zeena for music and sound art performances, or to commission her graphic art or photography, please write her agent at: info@zeena.eu.

DONATIONS:
If you would like to pledge your support towards the production costs involved in the various projects Zeena is currently creating and producing, please use the PayPal donation button below.

​Thank you for your support! 

San Francisco is currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. This week also marks the dark-side of the city's history. On May 23, 1967 Zeena made her international debut as performance-artist at the first public satanic baptism, orchestrated by her parents' in-house carnival show. She has commemorated the event by creating a personally charged meditative ritual in the form of a soundscape and video collage. 
[Video below]

An Excerpt from a 1992 film by Zeena Schreck originally titled "GERMANIA: The Theory of Ruins". Filmed 25 years ago today at crossover from Walpurgisnacht to May Day, at the top of the Harz Mountains in Germany, home of the original Walpurgisnacht. 

In this clip, the personification of the May Queen ushers in Springtime with a speech of rejuvenation for the Pagan New Year, the day after Walpurgisnacht.

The raw footage of "GERMANIA: The Theory of Ruins" is being digitally rescued from old VHS master tapes for re-release in a series of theme-oriented short films and sound art recordings by Zeena Schreck.

The subject matter will focus on the history of German music, cinema, art, pagan lore, natural landscapes and architecture.

For more info, sign up to the mailing list on this site 

R.I.P. Jutta Winkelmann, German director, author and 1/2 of the '60s counter-culture creative partnership with photographer & twin sister Gisela Getty, both of whom were and are (respectively) my friends.
Lighting a candle on my shrine tonight for Jutta;
May she quickly reach the Pure Light of Nirvana.
May her loved ones, and everyone, have peace and freedom from the pain and suffering of loss
and this cyclic existence. May they have happiness and the causes of happiness.
OM AMI DEWA HRI
-ZS
This is Jutta Winkelman's last interview, from three weeks ago, for the German magazine Der Stern, 
Below is a short video clip about the two sisters, in English:

To my Fallen Angel Godfather, wishing him a spectacularly cosmic 90th solar return. -Zeena Schreck

Interview with Zeena recalling memories of her artistic mentor and godfather Kenneth Anger
​[begin @ time-code 4:00]

Zeena Schreck performing Kali Invocation at Neurotitan Schwarzenberg Gallery Berlin, January 14, 2017

Presented by Viviana Druga for Urban Witches not Bitches#2 Exhibit.
Percussion and shruti box: Brandon Rosenbluth
Background Artwork: Shaltmira

Filmed & edited by 
Thorium Heavy Industries

Audio/video engineering by 
The Man with the Green Gloves.

ZEENA SCHRECK will be the very speical Mistress of Ceremonies who will open the exhibition URBAN WITCHES NOT BITCHES #2: A PAGAN WHEEL OF THE SEASONS in Berlin, Germany at the Neurotitan Gallery.
Description: Undamaged by the rational mind, the New Feminine inhabits a new realm of uncivilized norms in which the Dark Feminine, so feared by patriarchy, emerges transformed.
Conceived by Vivana Druga, Urban Witches is composed of an exhibition and calendar. Eight women artists have been invited to create installation, performance and sound-based work for the exhibition.
The printed calendar, featuring eight photographic portraits of eight artists (performance artists, sculptors, costume designers and illustrators), forms the basis of the exhibition.
Each portrait symbolizes a festival or 'sabbath' in the Urban Witches 2017 Calendar / A Pagan Wheel of the Seasons, and is represented by an artist fitting the transformative energy of that season. Each portrait was created as part of a ritual during the year 2016.
The Urban Witches 2017 Calendar / A Pagan Wheel of the Seasons is based on the eight seasons of the neo-pagan 'wheel of the year' and its cycles of birth, death and renewal. The wheel of the year developed out of cross-cultural awareness in early modern Europe, influenced by Celtic traditions.

The exhibition runs from Jan. 14-28, 2017.
For more info go to http://www.neurotitan.de/EN/archive/2017/170114_urbanwitches2_en.html

IF YOU MISSED GETTING A 2017 ZEENA CALENDAR: There are still a VERY few left! 
First come first serve gets you 10 Euros off. Autograph options in description at http://www.zeenaschreck.com/…/2017_ZEENA_Calendar-Meditatio…
Thanks to writer/journalist Nicholas Diak for these images of his own personally autographed ZEENA calendar!

Twenty-five years ago today, Radio Werewolf ceremonially concluded its seven year sonic-magic cycle with The Zürich Experiment, held at the historic Kaufleuten concert hall, Zurich, Switzerland at Midnight, December 30, 1991. The live track in this post is from that event, digitally remastered in 2012, for The Vinyl Solution - Analog Artifacts: Ritual Instrumentals and Undercover Versions.  Video collage by Tony Sokol.

Text to "Prologue: Turn Off, Tune In, Drop Out" :

[Voice: Master of Ceremonies Wolfgang]
​
Willkommen beim Zürich Experiment. 
Sie sind hier zusammengerufen worden, um an einem historischen Experiment in akustischer Magie teilzunehmen. Während der nächsten Minuten wird Ihr Verstand von vielen Jahren Programmierung, Fehlinformationen und gesellschaftlicher Kontrollmechanismen gesäubert und befreit werden.
Heute nacht haben Sie aus freiem Willen eine andere Dimension des Denkens betreten. Am Ende des Experiments werden Sie nicht mehr dieselbe Person sein wie bei Ihrer Ankunft an diesem Ort. 
Dankeschön.

English translation:
Welcome to the Zurich experiment.
You have been summoned here to participate in a historic experiment in acoustic magic. During the next few minutes, your minds will be cleansed and freed from many years of programming, misinformation and social control mechanisms.
Tonight you have voluntarily entered another dimension of thought. At the end of the experiment, you will not be the same person as you were when you arrived at this location.
Thank you.

[Voice: Alpha She-Wolf Zeena]
Good Evening. You've tuned into Radio Werewolf, the Voice of Terror, broadcasting at a frequency of 666 megahertz. The following is a Transmission of the Nightmare Network.
Thank You.

Credits:
​Prologue: Turn Off, Tune In, Drop Out
Radio Werewolf
The Vinyl Solution
Live at The Zurich Experiment, Dec. 30, 1991
Vocals: Zeena & Wolfgang 
Sound recordings: Zeena
Copyright 1991 All Rights Reserved
Visual Choreographer: Tony Sokol

 The Guardsman student newspaper interviews Zeena on a little known period of her life as an arts student at City College of San Francisco & teenage single-mother. During the run up for local election to reinstate CCSF as a free college, Zeena shares her memories and recommends young art students to also explore opportunities in foreign countries that offer state support for the arts and universities. Read the full article HERE

If you're in NYC this weekend: You can pick up a copy of The Zaum of Zeena in real life from the publisher at the eleventh annual NY Art Book Fair, from September 16 to 18, 2016, at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens. 

Go to the HEINZFELLER NILEISIST booth in the zine tent, A21, just to the left upon entering.
Other items offered include:

*A fanzine about opera singer Waltraud Meier, one of the most powerful artists to currently walk this earth - by Frank Haines.
Black and white photocopy, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 68 pages, 35 copies 

​*The Range, by Alexa Adams and Flora Gill of Ohne Titel. The Range deals with intersections between sport and symbolism to reimagine commercial climbing imagery as disrupted myths of femininity and masculinity. 
56 pages, 100 Copies, Black & White on paper

*A limited edition (20) zine by JOE DeNARDO consisting of timeless black and white blowups and new manipulations from his vast archive.
8..5 x 11", black & white photocopy, many wonderful pages

*Reuben Lorch-Miller's new book Sculpture
Original photographs, writing, other documents and a bonus insert. 
Each cover is hand printed in three colors by the artist
Black and White 119 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches
Edition of 25. Each is signed and numbered

*Some Random Images Left By Dead People on My Computer 2015-2016 
Bank's Violette's new zine which is accurately described in it's title.
Black and White photocopy, 60 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 100 copies

* a new edition of SLEEPING AMONG THE SEA GRAPES by Mike Robson which now includes a photo of the author

* previously published publications which can be seen here

* Occult objects and minerals I brought back from 
Esoterik Charley in Bogota, Colombia

and

New Stained Glass by Frank Haines
​
This and more is all happening at the NYC ART BOOK FAIR THIS WEEKEND!
​