Primal Death Anxiety
This was the piece I submitted for Launch Pad Gallery’s fall theme show for this year, “Facing Fear.” about 100 artists contributed to this show. You can read about it here.
The elements for this piece (the frame and the mirror) have been hanging around my art studio for some time. I didn’t know how they fit together but I knew some day it would come together.
Then recently, I started reading “Existential Psychotherapy”, by Irvin Yalom. He’s a big name in therapy. He has a quite large chapter related to death anxiety and the way this underlies much of psychopathology. I had, around the same time, experienced a death in my own family. I decided to finish the piece, weaving together symbolism of primal death fears (becoming devoured, injury, the void, etc.) along with the original element that ties it all together: The outline of a skull, backed by a mirror, to be hung level with the viewer’s own face. Imagine this for a second, and leave me a comment about what kind of things YOU would see…?! 
November 5, 2010 at 12:21 pm
wow, your galleries are the best that i’ve seen by far. You must really love your art. I work
with clay/pottery to design pots and more, but I’m blessed with your work.
Wish you the best in the future and don’t stop being creative.
November 5, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Excellent!