Purgatory
pur·ga·to·ry
/ˈpərɡəˌtôrē/
noun
(in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven.
This painting is inspired by the binaries of life and death, heaven and hell, soul and mind and flesh and bone. I interpreted "purgatory” as the place my character contemplates the morality of his sins. Thus the halo above his head while his alter ego in yellow has a devil’s horn.
Details wise, the background text is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1609) revolving around the theme of daring damnation. I chose cursive to make the text look like a handwritten letter, a note from the character to himself and to the worlds beyond him.
The yellow arrow slicing across the body represents the splitting between life and death and heaven and hell. It kills the character while simultaneously giving him a life after death. The dotted lines represent many things like the twisted paths available for one to take, or a straight edged one that leads to the abyss. Lastly, the teardrops on the left hand side symbolize the number of lives available to the character, like a video game. There is also the letter “P” in blue paint to emphasize the theme of purgatory.
I try to explain my inspirations and my thought processes in these written statements, but they only serve one perspective. My artworks are open-ended, new meanings can be created with each set of fresh eyes.
(Purgatory, Huney, Mixed Media on a 18 x 24 canvas, 2020)