Fozu

Back with an artsier post. After a brief discussion on what can be said through a commission to the community, Fozu brought up the hurdles of in-person communication: While it is easy for him to use text online and be comfortable with established friends, the act of talking to unfamiliar people in person is not. To paraphrase, thoughts get stuck behind a wall. This results in simplification and a lack of expressiveness or fluidity, as well as the use of prepared responses to maintain the pace of the conversation.

I had the choice between a more literal and a freer approach. Personally I felt less comfortable with the idea of showing some kind of act of translation or obstacle. Wouldn’t it be strange to include an actual wall for something to actually get stuck behind? Where would the dragon go? As for the other option, I had just put my first Tarot talk behind me and connected this freshly with the pain and anxiety of talking. I chose to use two esoteric symbols that the noodly Eastern Dragon shape fit well. These would be the Ouroboros, the serpent devouring its tail, and the lemniscate (or infinity symbol.) The former is connected to life as a cycle, the latter is related to the same idea but emphasises the changing motions and undulations, plus it looks like two cells separating which is kinda cool. One is O, the other is oo.

Neither symbol relates directly to our original topic of communication. It may be possible to say that in creating ourselves, we use labels/words/forms like snakes who shed skin, that would be taking it pretty far. Other ways to see this symbology are possible. More importantly, the symbols do something to the picture visually. As they trace the dragons with their focus, the observer might feel like they are searching for form, wanting to see a complete creature that never quite emerges. They turn him into a chain, something iterative, a suspended motion with an ambiguous direction. The rendering varies too, and the process of creating this confusion was very fun. Most of us don’t even notice how our brains fill in the gaps. We may think a word, even a name, has a fixed meaning when all form is thin as air. That is not to say it’s not important, but it might mean that it could be worth paying attention to what most of us take for granted - and that Fozu experiences this process in a way that others don’t. Anyhow, I don’t know if most thoughts can take on form in the first place. It is possible to understand something unspeakable, and speak something that is incomprehensible. Personally, I wish I could find better words for my feelings at the moment of writing this.

It’s time to rate myself. I mentioned that the rendering was very fun, but how much use was it? I attempted to include typographical elements. Although I did play with flattened shapes and sharp edges, it may not have come out clear enough. Many ideas rose to the surface: I replicated the character in different positions in 3-dimensional space, creating the illusion of a braided or winding ring (Ring of Power? lol) of dragons of which only a section is visible in the composition. To help my imagination, I sketched in a large block around the main area. This block was included in the final piece and may refer to construction of some kind. While the “tunnel” appearance inside the lemniscate-figure is fun and could broadly refer to an introversion (goggles?), it wasn’t done to a degree where I felt satisfied with its effect. Plus, it might have been too literal. Finally, I will admit that I would have liked to use colour more liberally.

Although the piece does not tackle Fozu’s unique perspective as directly and clearly as I would have liked it to, it received more specific attention to every element than previous commissions I've worked on. I feel some improvement - and remain grateful for his trust in me. Hopefully it'll spark a fun conversation :)

Thank you for reading,
Theo

(commissioned July 23, created in September after EF. Post Rona fatigue is real)