Whale Fall
Oil on canvas, 56 x 38 (2015)
A whale carcass on the ocean floor becomes an ecosystem of its own. Organisms like giant isopods, squat lobsters, bristleworms, prawns, shrimp, lobsters, hagfish, Osedax, crabs, sea cucumbers, and sleeper sharks consume and live in/on the whale. This speaks to our longing for an “after life”, be it “eternal soul”, “leaving something behind” or “not forgotten”. As I live and paint, I hope that my art will slowly drift to the ocean floor of our collective memory…or at least pop-up in Google searches…
A whale carcass on the ocean floor becomes an ecosystem of its own. Organisms like giant isopods, squat lobsters, bristleworms, prawns, shrimp, lobsters, hagfish, Osedax, crabs, sea cucumbers, and sleeper sharks consume and live in/on the whale. This speaks to our longing for an “after life”, be it “eternal soul”, “leaving something behind” or “not forgotten”. As I live and paint, I hope that my art will slowly drift to the ocean floor of our collective memory…or at least pop-up in Google searches…