Tale of Pearl
Oil on panel/canvas
Works on paper
Series Statement
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“Driven into Paradise: The Tale of Pearl” presents fragments from an epic narrative of the flight and survival of small, isolated bands of children escaping the destruction of a city. The action takes place in and around the “Below”, an immense underground warehouse set in a landscape that resembles Los Angeles. The space is divided into two realms: an upper and lower one rendered in heightened one-point perspective achieved by following the rules of linear perspective instead of their intent. The resulting structural distortion makes manifest two underlining themes in the narrative: one is that we live in a world of multiple points-of-view yet often operate as if there was only one point-of-view, and the other is that the rules or systems of society have become more important than those they were intended to serve. The children’s chance of surviving the breakdown of this flawed system and their exodus to the “Beyond”, a mountainous paradise filled with rats, rocks, and snakes, depends on their ability to communicate and cooperate. They are quietly led by an unassuming girl in a white nightgown, “Pearl of the 3 Black Cats”.