To Be Or Not To Be (2014)

This work is one of my Abstract Carved Wood Series. When I made this painting I was exploring my ideas about what lies at the heart of creativity. I made the large abstract face to be asymmetrical to represent different aspects of reality.  The foetus symbolises the unborn idea or unrealised potential in the world of possibilities, waiting to be materialised into this world. On the other side are many human beings, waiting to discover what will come to pass on Earth. The humans in this world don't realise that their intentions and actions will shape what unfolds in the future. The foetus, symbolising the unborn potential is waiting to be discovered, wondering if the world is ready for it to be born. Possibly it is deciding it does not want to enter this world.  So it may never come into being. It may never be found because the world is not ready. My feeling is that the  creative process gives birth to what already exists in the field of possibilities. It takes a special kind of person to be able to connect with this intangible aspect of reality and bring it into being in the material world. This is what makes the true artist.