Oil and aerosol on canvas
66”x60
I was thinking a lot about depth and flatness when I started this piece. I wanted to play with the idea of pushing things infinitely far back as well as pulling them infinitely far forward. Two skyscapes stacked illogically on top of each other hover — although collapsing — over the blurred image, which seems to recede even further back than the sky. The two seated figures in the front, taken from a first aid manual, are slumped over sifting through something cast in shadow. The viewer, to whom the shadow belongs, obscures the unfolding drama in the painting by standing in front and viewing it. The viewer also bridges the gap between the world within the painting and the world outside of it.
I thought it was interesting that the only figures rendered without depth are the ones engaged in the most meaningful activity in the painting. It’s after them that I named this piece. If the painting is technically about depth contending with flatness, then maybe conceptually its about meaning contending with absurdity.
