Beside Himself

16''x20'' Oil On Canvas Mixed Media

The figure imprisoned in his own malaise, reaches for the light he can no longer obtain. But in actuality it is the mirror (embedded within the painting) he can't bear, he can't stand to see what he has become and crumples in despair. The mirror is also there for the observer to gaze into and ask themselves, what do you see? His eyes, dark, cold, void of life, (sewn shut with wire -- click to enlarge detail), cannot see the realities surrounding him. Sewn shut, too afraid to see what makes him tick, he believes the lies that distorted his view of himself. Emaciated, stripped of the power to express his rage, his despair the absence of a mouth silences his screams as he reaches out of the darkness for an answer... how did I get here?

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