A meditation on the waning days of western metaphysics via the art-historical trope of the harlequin—this time re-imagined as a Black Metal-music reveler. These are corpse painted figures imbibing in a bacchanal of alcohol and religious euphoria. They are the Freudian Id, loosed and drunk with a mal-appropriated spirituality.
Using structures of iconic, Christian painting and the illuminated manuscript, the work endeavors to create a confluence of reverence and irreverence. These paintings strive to depict a desire for meaning, faced with the fear that meaning has ultimately receded in our world.
Think of it as a gnostic conversation (albeit a drunken conversation) ...an "after party" of civilization's metaphysical/religious beliefs.
Or, perhaps Kabuki theatre; masks dancing an inebriated prayer.
Cheers to us all!
Russell
