Dreams in contention

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This work is based on multiple drawing exercises I made in the fall of 2012. This image is a synthesis of my creative work from that period. I used at least ten drawings I initially made without any connection between them and without any specific purpose. I made this image free from any constraints. The idea for this project came to me after I analyzed the multitude of exercises I did. I noticed that they have something in common, they seemed to fit together, visually. The challenge of this project was to harmonize the exercises I made and to create a composition that makes sense.

As the title of the work indicates, the image could be something imagined in a dream. The creatures in the picture are in a fantasy world and do not have counterparts in reality. Yet, some of them might remind viewers of birds, octopuses and other real life creatures. One can observe that I painted several conflictual situations. In what follows I will present these extensively.

On the left side, there's a creature with heavy arms and a small head, that uses its tongue to catch the heart of another creature which bears resemblance with an octopus, having a face that expresses fear. The large creature stretches another arm upwards holding a bright object, towards the center of the image. I suggest a sort of transaction is taking place: in exchange for love, the creature must give something to the deity, the celestial body. The dark disc can be regarded as a celestial body, a sun during total eclipse. As such, the moment depicted is a rare one. If it is not an exchange between the two, then there's room for another interpretation. Perhaps the big creature sacrifices the heart of the octopus for the deity. So, together with the bright object held up, these could be materialistic and non-materialistic offerings for the worshiped deity.

In the mid-section of the picture we have a bird-tree like creature spreading its arms towards the disc. I suggest that this creature might be worshiping as well the alleged solar deity. Underneath the worshiped celestial body, there are two creatures that have really peculiar shapes. They seem to be in an antagonistic situation. Their orientation towards each other suggests that there is a dispute going on between them. On the head of the red creature I painted the same formation of small bright dots, like those found on the disc. The absence of a physical object that could stir a dispute between the two and having a creature marked with the symbol of a possible deity, it may be assumed that the dispute is an ideological one.

Differently colored bands expand towards the left side of the image. This is a suggestion that the bird-tree has power and influence over the smaller creatures on the left. Yet, the bird-tree, on the back of its head, has a direct connection with another creature or entity, through a wire. This entity seems to be part of the landscape. It can be concluded that these relationships of domination and submission are an analogy for the complexity of the society we live in, and relationships of interdependence. While the bird-tree is worshiping a deity and exerts influence on others, it is simultaneously controlled by something else or someone else.

On the right side of the composition we have two creatures: one is inspired by (the Tasmanian Devil, Taz) and the other one resembles a green over-sized snail. They find themselves in a purely materialistic dispute sparked by the black box located between them. You may observe how they "live in their own little world", undisturbed.

I used a color palette that reflects the rich diversity of the landscape and the situations presented. On the right side where the materialistic dispute takes place, The color gradients should remind viewers of sunsets. It is a really happy coincidence that the dispute of the two creatures takes place at sunset. This may suggest that the end of humanity may be caused by materialistic disputes. The flying creatures that leave, add to the dramatic ending.

In conclusion, one can say that the picture depicts, using phantasmagorical analogies, different types of disputes and situations of contention that one can often find in the real world. Of course, the image is an over-simplification of the real life hardships.

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