SeT BEFORE ME
2024, Acrylic Painting on 48x60in Canvas
set before Me
In the midst of all of this, I have been told of a table that has always been set before me. Even when I deny it, whether because of my defeat or in the presence of my fears or enemies this table is always full of everything that I could ever need.
This has began to shape and mold my understanding of communion becoming my reality. There is connection to the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all things that has been extended to me despite the flaws in myself that seem to disqualify me.
This piece highlights the table with an unearthly quality through the use of a digital negative. This sets the table, setting the scene and inviting the viewer to focus on the invitation beyond their dreams.
This painting is a meditation on the invitation that is always set before me. In my personal life I seem to have a nagging feeling of disconnection and isolation. I know this is not a uncommon experience but one that is in my generation and our cultural moment at large. Although it can be counteracted through different disciplines, social interactions and pursuits, the feeling sometimes never subsides or disappears entirely.
To take it one step further, when shame and self doubts are introduced into the mix this experience of disconnection can parasitically eat away at the best of interactions and connections that are before me.