The Scream

I have a work in progress that I am somewhat afraid to share. It will freak people out. People I care about.

Like my mother in law, she has a fear of spiders and I don’t want to shock her.

But the image shows how I have felt, how they have felt at times.

It captures the Zeitgeist.

Irrational fear has had us all in it’s fist.

This is what it takes to put free expression over hurting people’s feelings, and most certainly over looking silly or not being understood. The latter two are both fears you have to entirely overcome before you can resist in any kind of power struggle. I think being an artist has prepared me for that to some extent.

But I am sensitive to other people’s feelings and wellbeing, therefore I still find it hard to rock the boat.

Imagine how Courbet must have felt back in 1866 when he showed ‘L’origin du monde’ to his friends and family. There is no room for being self-conscious. The fear of societal ridicule must be chopped through clean with an axe.

It is a reminder to all of us; as long as you seek validation and approval, you will not be your true self and bring your full scope to the world, and to yourself.

Free yourself from the web of vines that bind you.