By Doreen Marion Gee

"My bird imagery is a conscious manifestation of a subconscious desire...a desire for lightness of being...a desire to fly." Daniel Sali is an artist on a 'mission' - in the real and metaphysical sense of that term. He has been invited to display his creations in a Shinto Shrine in Tokyo Japan, this November. This is his chance to sparkle on a global canvas. But he also wants to raise our consciousness about being an artist with a disability. As someone with mobility issues, his own desire to be airborne is carried on the wings of his far-reaching visions. His beautiful and intricate paintings seem to soar above earth, transcending the limits of imagination.

Sali's art takes on a life of its own against a golden James Bay afternoon. In his tiny suite overlooking Beacon Hill Park, he is a warm figure talking with intelligence and passion about his work. His glorious artwork engages and bends the mind as it draws you into a surreal world of symbols, fleeting images, and reflections of nature and the universe. You are treated to delicious details, blazing colours, mellow suns and sultry moons. Cryptic flashes of DNA strands, planets, and Zodiac signs dazzle the eye. There are a myriad of flavours that are mainly Japanese but with tastes of Greek mythology and just a pinch of Botticelli.

The world he creates is spiritual and esoteric, nuanced and visionary. Inspired by natural wonder, Sali is an expressionist painter, speaking with watercolour, acrylic and ink. Birds and herons jump off his archival paper, revealing the reverence of nature implicit in his Shinto beliefs. His frames capture the spirits that exist in all things. Sali's work shows a fascination with patterns and shapes. Here "art imitates life": his belief in balance permeates his symmetrical drawings. It is uncanny that an artist with no formal training can depict the natural world with such power and finesse. His works have been shown in exhibits in Regina and Victoria and are in personal collections around the world.

Through a series of fateful events, Sali met a Japanese Shinto priest visiting Victoria. The priest admired his art so much that he invited Sali to exhibit his work in the Tanashijinja Shrine in Tokoyo. The "Spiritual World of Dan Sali" will delight crowds from November 3 - 11 this fall. According to Sali, "It is extremely rare for a foreigner to be invited to show their work in a Shrine, because it is such a sacred place. This may be the only time this has ever happened!" During the busy Tokyo Heritage Days, thousands of tourists from around the world will put Sali and Victoria on the map. To Sali, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. His excitement shows - "Here I am - this Victoria artist being able to do this phenomenal thing. It takes my breath away!"

His hosts in Japan have asked Sali to write about life with a disability. Living with Becker's Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle destroying disease, Sali eagerly welcomes this opportunity to educate people in a distant country. His words are inspiring: "There are many things I can't do but there are many more things that I can." The only real limitation he faces is financial where he lacks the resources to meet certain costs of his dream trip, such as airfare and framing costs. He welcomes any ideas on how to raise the necessary funds at zknufind@yahoo.ca.

Dan Sali struggles with his cane as he slowly moves around his apartment. But in his mind, he is already riding on the wind and over the mountains to pursue his dreams in a faraway land.

Photo by Barry Behnke