An octopus appears to be devouring a woman
The quote continues:
“and sometimes it grows bold and its teeth are at my throat. It drags me down, and if I did not carry a shield against it, I could not get up from beneath its weight."
There are things that loom over us, lurk behind us, peer over our shoulders. And sometimes engulf us.
Tchaikovsky's quote is from a book which includes a character struggling with clinical depression. His description is haunting.
For me, the thing which is always at my back is, well, my back. My spine, to be exact.
And here's the thing about bones - they are always at your back (and your front, and your limbs, and well, in your head). I have an ongoing conversation with my own bones, osteoporotic and sinking. It goes something like this:
You doing ok in there?
Yep, just don't bend over, or look up, or look down, or lift anything, or fall down or bang into things.
Hmmm, well that is awfully restrictive! How about if I just lift this thing?
Well, ok, but tomorrow could be iffy.
Iffy?
Uh huh. You might be in some pain.
Might be?
Yes, I can never say for sure.
And why not? I mean, you are the actual bones, right?
Yes, well, I am also prone to sudden mood changes.
Don't get. me wrong, I love my bones! I am grateful for their reslience and tenacity. But I sometimes delight in portraying my bones as unpredictibly monstrous. Somehow it feels better to imagine a moody monster within than a slowly crumbling structure of minerals. And my bones like being seen as sassy, anyway.
How about you - what is always at your back?
Always At My Back
oil on canvas
28 x 31.75
"It is always at my back,” he continued,
― Adrian Tchaikovsky, Elder Race
Get the art: www.lolajovan.com/store/p820/o...
#art #oilpainting #fantasyart #octopusart #tentacles #octopus #painting #darkwhimsy
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