Stand Guard
2019 | 60 cm | Acrylic and alabaster on cardboard
Available for exhibition
This work warns against absorbing fragments of old wisdom without scrutiny. An alabaster figure of Plato, headless and without its pedestal, symbolises the decay of knowledge over time. Suspended against a sky-blue backdrop of clouds and scattered dots, it reflects how old ideas are placed among present ones, yet often incomplete and unfit for purpose in a modern context.
Built from recycled materials, a discarded mirror frame and a damaged alabaster sculpture reimagined together as a symbol, the piece presents a calm, polished surface that suggests knowledge ready to be absorbed. Yet this impression is deceptive, for knowledge that appears complete often carries dangerous distortions. A devil’s silhouette appears behind the figure only when the viewer shines UV light onto the canvas, which signifies the dangers that lurk within both old and new ideas, revealed only through the act of critical examination.
The piece is both a meditation and a warning: stand guard at the entrance of your mind. When old or new ideas are left unscrutinised, evil prevails.