Children often receive advice to behave appropriately in the fear that monsters will abduct them. But what are monsters? The question is, who are the monsters? Are they even real? Monsters are real, and devils are too. Monsters don’t sleep under your beds; they sleep inside your heads. And sometimes, they ignite and win!!
This post represents a series of three acrylic paintings using traditional art practices and design concepts to convey “We are the Monsters,” utilizing the contemporary “chiaroscuro” effects. If you closely go through all my artworks, you will observe that they all reflect influences from different eras of art. Ever since my interest in the field of art history, I have always been fascinated by the most revolutionary art movements, from Dali’s Surrealism and Picasso’s Cubism to Early Expressionism and Non-objective Abstracts.
Then again, all my art creations stem from specific themes and styles of Expressionism.
This series of paintings corresponds to my previous artwork entitled “The Mind.”
We are the Monsters, however, represents the manifestation of demonic forces within our minds. Often, people complain that the world is a terrible place to live, but who makes it so? The choices people make activate the demonic forces within us as individuals and as a society. The sole control of the human mind is responsible for everything that happens around this world, from the good to the bad. Then again, who decides what is right and what is not? You see, murdering humans, in general, is considered a crime, but killing animals to satisfy human needs is not.
Then, taking an example from medieval times, more than fifty thousand witches were burned and hanged without fully comprehending the difference between satanic worship and witchcraft, raising the question, what makes those people who burned the witches a saint? Many often say that for the survival of a good society, one must imprison the one who unfollows the rules. Can you explain why people play God and decide who or what to kill? Regardless of who is right or wrong, nobody has a definitive answer.
This article does not intend to support the criminal mindset nor claim to say that all people are monsters. It only seeks to express the demonic forces that control human minds and how they win most of the time.
The first canvas depicts the “alters” within a person. As you can see, this piece contains three human-like esthetic elements in the frame. One emerges as massive, monstrous, and aloof, whereas the other two carry a softer appearance. All three figurines represent the “alters” within one person. You can also check out my article on Multiple-Personalities to learn more about it. Anyhoo, this depiction of the “alters” in this frame represents an early stage of self-monstrosity.
The indifferent figurine in the second canvas demonstrates the monster within us in human form. It shows the expression of a contradictory calmness with the “self.” The mind struggles to process fully and resists the darkness, but the subconscious takes control of the indecisiveness. It is true what religious believers say about the angel and devil whispers. But here, the angel and the devil are the vast human mind. And the devil has a natural tendency to control its owners due to the ambiguities of the human world.
Then, on canvas three, you can see that the self-monstrosity has fully developed, eliminating the “alters.” This piece here indicates that you become what you feed to your mind and soul. For example, if you keep manifesting negative emotions and thoughts within yourself, you become that person, leading to a path of destruction for the “self” and others. And the monster within you thus becomes real.