(48” x 36”) Oil on canvas 2016-2017
In this painting, I wanted to explore themes of death and stagnation as well as Saturnian themes of time, limitations, challeneges, perseverance, and hard work. In addition, I included a concept in astrology called the Saturn Return, which involves a significant event in a person's life when they reach the age of roughly 27-30 years old. It corresponds with major life changes, increased responsibility, and a reevaluation of one's goals and direction in life.
It features a young man lying down on his stomach with an uncomfortable expression on his face. A magic lamp is featured with a psychedelic, cascading, swirly waterfall where the anchor connects with the man as a tattoo, which portrays himself feeling weighed down. The man is depicted as if he is a genie trapped inside a magic lamp, a prisoner of sorts.
Above him looms Saturn, the ancient Roman deity of time, harvest, abundance, death, and liberation. He is depicted as the green light in the painting, a formless enitity that took on its chosen form as a half torn Mardi Gras mask with a Medusa-esque, feathered crown and various symbolic charms hanging down from his goat horns. The black flowers growing from the broken hourglass are symbolic of death and loss and the Ace of Spades where Saturn is throwing the mudra beneath it is also symbolic of death and transformation. The mudra Saturn is doing is Shuni Mudra, a mudra of Saturn.
The swirling chaos surrounding the man portrays a phantasmagoric feel with no real beginning or end. Yet, amidst this turmoil, glimmers of hope emerge. An opening in the middle with the universe is displayed with a random door opening and light peering through, symbolizing a possible higher dimension that transcends earthly confines. This mysterious realm poses the question of what lies beyond death, whether is a literal death or symbolic one that takes place. It is meant to be open-ended, but I intended it to lean more towards a positive, higher dimension where not all hope is lost. How even in our darkest moments, the potential for transformation and transcendence exists, waiting just beyond the veil of our current reality.
