story 2

After showing the monochrome Descent to my loved ones, opinions about the painting were divided on two fronts. Some saw it as a meaningless abstraction, some saw it as a dirty couch, and some struggled to get the point across.

With some not-so-ambiguous reactions on hand, I realized that I could offer a more readable format by using a more expansive color palette. This approach met my expectations and the new work was received quite predictably.

Being in a constant attempt to say as much as possible within a single frame, I came up with the idea of incorporating the chronology of an entire life into the limited space of the canvas.

The painting depicts the metamorphosis of a woman from birth to death, linked to the flow of a river and framed by elements of life events, with a considerable amount of symbolism and mysticism.
Mice, chosen by me as one of the most ambiguous symbols in the cultures of different peoples, appear here in several roles, being the key to the unraveling of the general idea.

Being the oldest chronic symbol, the mouse was associated with funeral rites, death and represented in its image by the souls of the dead. Its presence in the painting accompanies the last stage in the life of the protagonist. At the domestic level, the mouse was associated with the expectation of the birth of a new life, which is a reference to the theory of reincarnation of the soul.

In short, the mouse appears here as a symbol of death and birth, with a hint of its close connection to witchcraft and mysticism.

Year completed: 2024

Dimensions: 140*100

Medium / materials: Canvas / acryl

Name: Vlad blastov