Darwinian Specter
36”h X 80”w
Oil on Canvas
2004
This painting represents the questions of some, including my own - the plurality of beliefs to the origin of humanity, chiefly, the contentions of creation and evolution. The male figure with the crosses symbolizes religion (or faith), perhaps as a puppet (something that controls us, or that we allow to control us, as there are no strings attached). A heart sits in the main figure’s right hand, counter balanced by a chimpanzee, symbolizing our link to the past - that is, with religion (or faith) leaving us, or us leaving it, and our heart removed, maybe the only thing to believe is that we came from chimpanzees. Thus, she gazes intently into the possibility of this truth; not just that we came from apes, but perhaps the absence of a creator altogether. I titled it Darwinian Specter due to the endless chase of the missing link, the unquestionable ape-man being that would once and for all, link apes to humans.
Darwinian Specter (detail)
Darwinian Specter (detail)
Darwinian Specter (detail)
Darwinian Specter (detail)