Atu I - The Magus - Thoth Tarot - Aleister Crowley 1943

Lady Frieda Harris made this card, called Atu I - The Magus, for Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. The whole deck has this really unique approach to mark-making, where the figures are built up through thin layers of colour in a way that feels really intuitive and process-oriented. Looking at the surface, you can see how she’s used really thin paint, almost like watercolour in places. The colours are translucent, layering on top of each other to create depth. It’s not about hiding the process; you can see every brushstroke, every decision she made. Take a look at the figure’s face. Notice how the yellow ochre is built up with these little green flecks. The green gives a sense of volume and depth, but also of something slightly off-kilter. Harris’s approach reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, another artist who was working with esoteric ideas around the same time. Like Klint, Harris embraces ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own interpretations to the work.