As my year-end reflections continue, another artistic highlight from 2024 is the completion of one of the longest WIP’s that I have ever had going;
CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE.
Originally sketched in 2005, the idea got lost amongst shelved sketchbooks in my closet. A beacon of memory light laid with a digital scan of said sketch. The sketch managed to stay filed with other digital WIPs, transferred from desktops to laptops over the years. As I begin a series of paintings that play with the essence of hazardous elements as states of mind, I finally found the perfect time to retrieve this sketch from the conceptual backburner.
Original sketch for ‘CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE’. Circa 2005.
The painting turns explosive elements into a metaphor through the “explosive contents” aka “contents under pressure” symbol often seen on compressed (air) cans. Taking that symbol, I turned the exploding round shape into an exploding face. In showing the face exploding, combusting, I want to convey emotional overwhelming: feelings that are on the brink of taking over one’s psyche, too much for far too long, bringing on a complete meltdown.
This piece was painted in acrylic with gesso, on a 4ft by 5ft canvas that was actually a hand-me-down from a former studio mate. It had been lying around my studio for some time, until I began putting the series concept together.
As painting began, the iconic 80’s rap song “The Message” (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5) would play in my head.
Its lyrics captured environmental and societal pressures and their effects on the human psyche, pushing one to the edge with feelings of not being able to take it anymore. The constant feeling of pressure…contents under pressure.
Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edgeI’m trying not to lose my headIt’s like a jungle sometimesIt makes me wonder how I keep from goin’ under
Repeat.
