49" x 36" acrylic on board; Custom Gilded Frame (45" x 58" in frame)
A meditation on the value of solitude. Completed during the 2020 lock-down. Stylites were "pillar dwellers", ascetics of the ancient world who spent their lives in prayer and meditation atop a pillar. After some meditation on the possible meaning of the image I recognize that it encapsulates my feelings about the state of the world as we're connected through dysfunctional social media. A crumbling godhead at the roots of the tree gives a trickle of water, barely enough to satiate a spiritually ill society. From this comes the temptation to withdraw and dwell as a stylite in search of higher truth. Alternate titles include "The Madding Crowd", "Social Media" and "Wash Your Hands."
Reverse: in similar theme to the front, a parched and leafless green-man gasps desperately at the viewer, silent words hang in his open mouth never to be heard.
