Vision

Wheel of Fortune–Winds of Fate shows the inevitable vagaries of change. Sometimes you experience a glorious ride to the top of the wheel; but be prepared for the downward cycle. And when you’re at rock bottom, know that you can only go upwards from that point. The sky is dark, but it’s electrified with a shooting star and a strange alien sun, showing how darkness can be lit unexpectedly, giving some means of hope to go up again if you are open to thinking differently about managing a dire situation.

 

The ship images can be read both backwards and forwards: one ship floating peacefully on the sea, the other shipped wrecked on shore. But which one came first: the smashed expedition that later went on to future greatness, or the successful endeavor that smashed upon the shoals of bad planning or fortune? The flayed Gemini figures floating on a shifting blades, positioned both upside down and right side up reinforce the polarities of changeably thin margins of fate.

 

The central female figure is an allegory of Fate. The original etching showed greedy men groping at her legs, trying to change the balance. I delighted in removing their grasping hands from her limbs. The rat in the corner, eating a fish head shows the wheel of fortune ending at an inopportune time. A ghostly female figure combing her hair represents existing calmly in the moment, whatever the circumstances: attempting Zen balance amidst chaotic upheaval, whether positive or negative.

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This artwork was inspired in part by Carmen McRae's brilliant rendition of  "Everything Must Change" (terrible video, but OK recording).