Artist Bio:

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Melissa Artemis Shemanna is a visionary artist and curator whose work bridges the realms of art, spirituality, esoteric philosophy, and magickal ritual. Originating from Australia and currently based in the UK, she initiates the viewer into the experience of her works through the living myth and magic of her art form. A custodian of ancient wisdom, Melissa works in the totemic lineage of the Honeybee Dreaming Art Priestess, embodying ancient oracular traditions and transmitting esoteric knowledge through sacred ritual. Her canvases serve as visionary portals, where the mysterious and profound intersect with a strong sense of purpose, expressing her devotion to art as a potent magical rite.

 

Melissa Artemis Shemanna began both oil painting and esoteric practice at a very early age, dedicating her life to the evolution of mastery in both fields. Being initiated into Yogic, Tantrik, 13 Moon sacred blood mysteries, oracular divination arts, and Honeybee Medicine Woman original traditions, she is a lifelong devotee to the magical arts. 

 

Over the years, she has trained under various mentors from the Ernst Fuchs surrealist-visionary lineage in Vienna, specialising in old master techniques such as egg tempera and oil glazing Mischtechnik.

She has undertaken extended residential painting study immersions inAustralia, Italy and Bali, a five-year experience working closely with esoteric painter and sculptor Bruno Torfs in Marysville, Australia, and earned an institutional arts degree in NSW.

 

Melissa’s art practice is rooted in traditional oils and tempera, applied in multiple glazed layers to create translucent lenses of refracted colour. Often mixing her own paint from raw pigments and handmade mediums, she embraces the alchemical nature of the traditional painting process.

In 1995, she created OMNICULTURE, an arts and culture initiative that drove community arts projects in Sydney, Australia.

In 2018, she officially founded its evolution, The Honeybee Temple Arts Foundation, as a visionary arts pollinator, curating international gallery projects that house excellent examples of esoteric, magical, pan-visionary, and omni-cultural arts while also raising awareness for the sacred Honeybee.

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In 2022, Melissa embarked on a career-blazing art pilgrimage, curating and exhibiting over a decade of her paintings across Europe and the UK in multiple shows, including:

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• STARFIRE (solo exhibition, Hackney Wick, London)

• LABYRINTH OF ALCHEMISED HONEY (Crypt Gallery, London)

• ONEIROPRAXIS (Hastings Museum and Gallery, UK)

• Breaking Convention Visionaries (Exeter University, UK)

• Medicine Festival International Gallery (Wasing Estate, UK)

• Esoteric Convention Gallery (Northampton University, UK )

• Haekem Gallery (Brussels, Belgium, 2023)

• Ritual Arts Conference (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2024)

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Melissa Shemanna’s original paintings are held in private collections across Australia, the UK, Europe, the USA, Bali, and Romania. Through her temple arts and visionary creations, she cultivates spaces for deep contemplation, spiritual activation, and the embodiment of ancient mysteries, guiding others into the transformative power of art as a sacred and magical rite.

 

 

 

 

 

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