- DEPTH ART -

A Man

of  Zen

                                           The Dark Side of the Sun

 
     This painting explores the themes of extreme and toxic masculinity, particularly its potential for destruction and self-destruction. It is a geometric, symbolic representation of the myth explaining how the crow became black. According to the myth, the crow was once white. However, when the crow reported to Apollo that his lover had betrayed him, Apollo became so furious that the heat emanating from his anger burned the crow’s white feathers to black.


     To me, the painting appears to be folding into itself, as if it is self-devouring. The gray and black triangle resembles an immense beak swallowing the sun. The red sphere stands as a reflection of the yellow sun. From what I understand, as our sun loses its power, it will become increasingly red. In relation to the triangular shapes, the red sphere seems to be the eye of an immense bird with the yellow sun in its beak. The red eye appears blinded by rage and drowning in a thirst for blood. Following this transformation, after burning the primordial white crow into black, Apollo, consumed by jealousy, kills his consort.


     Initially, I thought the painting was complete. However, a painting teacher suggested adding an element to balance the geometric shapes, as they favored one side of the canvas. That is when I applied the image of the scarab. According to Egyptian mythology, the scarab (dung beetle) is responsible for rolling the sun around its orbit. To me, this duality between the dung beetle and the sacred scarab rolling the sun around matches the duality between the white crow and the black crow in the ancient Greek myth.