"Spain Camino Series"

2012.05.14 By Ong Hwee Yen

I created Spain Camino Series from end 2010 through 2011 is an expressionist journey
inspired by my personal sojourn on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of Saint
James) medieval pilgrim route in Spain in 2010 which happened to be a Holy Year, declared
whenever St. James day (25 July) falls on a Sunday. The next one is going to be on 2021.-- Ong Hwee Yen

 

About Camino de Santiago
 

Saint James' Way or El Camino de Santiago has existed over a thousand years. Tradition has
it that the remains of apostle Saint James were carried by boat from Jerusalem to the site of
what is now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. The
Way can take one of any number of routes and began in the old days, from one's home to end
at the pilgrimage site, but a few became considered the main ones like the French Way or from
the Pyrenees on the French-Spanish border. The route is today a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
 

Now the fun modern bits.. Carry a Credencial (pilgrim's passport) and collect stamps from
churches, refugios, tourist offices, and nowadays most public establishments along the way,
and they will serve as proof to the Pilgrim's office in Santiago to obtain a completion
certificate of the Way. But this is only if one walks the last 100km (or cycles the last 200km)
to get to Santiago de Compostela. The Camino is really much more than that last bit and
many take weeks or even months, armed with the pilgrim's staff and scallop shell, both
symbols of St James.
 

For the record, Yen did walked more than 100km, just not the last bit, but many beautiful
portions along the way. Upon return to Singapore, it became a one year journey of
reminiscing in painting the various places, people and sights she encountered, as she hiked
from the lil' villages on the Meseta plains, the historical towns of Burgos and Leon, into Galicia
and many a quaint camino village along the way, to finally arrive at the city of Santiago de
Compostela and its Cathedral. And her emotions are infused in her highly personal
interpretation of the Way.
 

So Buen Camino! (Camino greeting) And enjoy the paintings
 

See more of Ong Hwee Yen here and her series collection.