
54″ x 74″ Oil, acrylic, gold leaf, thread on canvas.
Titled “Hotel Califonia-Candyman”(self-portrait). A kind of vanitas & gravitas. The first piece of my “Hotel California” series.
Inspired by the lyrics, the series is a portrayal of the constant conflict we have within ourselves of who we really are vs how we often render a synthetic version of ourselves and how technology is erasing the line between what is reality and what is altered. Lately, I find myself on a constant roller-coaster between a sense of deep nostalgia for the tangible vs the indulgence of materialism and an augmented reality which can be very addictive.-“Prisoners of our own device”
“Candyman” displays my internal thoughts: contrasts and conflicts with the temptations of indulging in today’s superficiality vs my deep empathy for humanity and mother nature. It reflects this diminished line of reality and how it messes with my mind. To reflect this, the painting flips back and forth between being tactile and textured vs smooth-almost placid and seamlessly marries elements of ornamental, graphic superficial ones with more realistic ones in-turn creating a kind surrealistic tone, just as the thoughts in my mind; There is a sense of nostalgia for more innocent times while portraying a sense of richness with an underlying grittiness.
All painted directly on a single piece of canvas (no collage or applique-except the gold leaf)


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