《共生》

2022

A single arm twists to offer fruit and fish in hands at either end of the limb. As though in symbiosis with the arm, the tentacles of a squid wrap around its central knot. While at first glance the painting seems to emphasize the harmony of humans with nature, a closer look appears more forewarning. The hands offer sustenance, yet the geometric forms of the various fruit they hold suggest that they may not be edible objects. A hidden object peering behind a square apple—the muzzle of a gun—cautions how quickly symbiotic relationships, relationships of mutual benefit, can give way to violence. Perhaps the hands, like the tentacles, do not embrace, but rather choke?