And here is the completed image for a local Artists for Peace exhibition. It is entitled "Three Worlds" and is the first of Nigel's Paraffin Encaustic images.
I would like to continue by discussing the image, it's title and context within the up and coming exhibition, but i must do so with a prior note that it is my interpretation rather than Nigel's.
The title refers to the three levels in the image, the three worlds within our one. Perhaps, with this in mind the image is asking us to reconsider the preference that we give to only one part of our world. That which is in our everyday life and that we encounter only on a superficial basis.
There are also three different journeys taking place, that of the whale shark, the boat and the bird; all heading in the same direction, these three journeys are all connected, if not mirroring each other.
The flattened map of the earth is a suggestion of the human mindset, although we have the knowledge of the globe (as a spherical planet) we still often think in a linear and 'flat' way. We still refer to the 'east' and 'west' and this has growing cultural and social meaning and connotations that go beyond the physical layout of the world.
I find it difficult to ignore the connotations 'Three Worlds' as a title has with the economic structure of our world. We categorise countries according to their wealth in a hierarchical manner: the first, second and third world. The broad scale of this image and all it encompasses asks us to question how these categories implicate all that is beyond the human.
The three 'characters' (bird, boat, fish) in the image are heading away from us, into the distance, the horizon. Drawing us in and begging the question; where are we headed? Or, where are they going without us?
The image - with its subtle references to conflict, nature and peace - asks us to reflect on the status of the world and our own position within it. We are given space (as the medium creates depth and intrigue) to come at the is image, and hopefully the world, with quiet and thoughtful reflection. This attitude is one that in time, you would think, could in itself bring about more peace.
