Re-Live
Life, one of the greatest phenomena of our time; no one can tell exactly where it all started. Theories are all that are offered – ranging from God creating Earth in six days (seven if the day of rest is included) to the Big Bang theory. Therefore, my collage is a tribute to the cycle of life and death.
In terms of awakening, I aimed for a double-entendre. On one end, awakening can mean a spiritual release from the world, but contrarily, it can signify the very first glimpse of the world – new life. In deciding to stretch the meaning of the term, awakenings, I ventured to imbue it with another interpretation, called “re-live.” Partially because I believe in reincarnation, being of Buddhist affiliation, I wanted to depict life in a cyclical manner. Reincarnation is the notion that after death, if a person has merited another life from deeds done in their past life, they will be given new life as another being (for better or worse).
The background, I chose to depict certain scenes of death or destruction. The images appear in black and white because the lack of color creates a solemn atmosphere. Quite fitting actually, for death and destruction deprive life from their victims; the lack of color can show a lack of a soul, or existence. In the middle of the collage, I mounted the outline of an angel, made of fabric. Usually signifying many things, I chose to utilize its representation of Heaven, and that of rebirth. When a soul ascends to Heaven, it undergoes a catharsis, in order to purify the soul, and many times, is depicted as an angel. Hence, the angel also acts as a separation between the two stages of life. Being that the angel serves as a transition between the two, I decided to vary the medium from which I made it. I cut out the shape from an old white shirt, because white symbolizes purity, and is the color that angels are usually colored. Originally, I planned to draw in all the details of the angel; however, I found a certain quality in leaving the inside blank (although I cannot grasp what exactly it is).
In order to create a contrast to the bereft images in the backdrop, I chose to utilize colored images inside of the angel. These images were placed inside the angel, because they represented new life, and a brand new start. Furthermore, I wanted those images to appear closer to the person, feeling that they were more important. Lastly, I used color because it brings things to life, and makes them seem more dynamic – to emphasize the point that living things are vivacious. The final touch, and the highlight of my entire collage, is the budding flower in the middle of the angel. I though to myself, “what would be the epiphany of death AND rebirth together?” The answer, was to pluck a budding flower from a plant, therefore, it would show death and the beginning of new life.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Ernest I love your topic of life and and re-living. The use of black-and-white and less colorful pictures from the bright sun add the mood of death in some aspects. The sun stands out the most and seems to be the symbol of life which is greatly reflected in the colorful pictures of the baby, the rose and kittens. I do have a few questions though, why didn’t you choose to make the sun, which seems to be the most dominant image centered around the rest of the images? Overall I like your interpretation of rebirth in your collage.