Blessings
Triptych | Mixed media - Oil, acrylic, and collage on illustration board | 17" x 11" each, 17" x 33" total size
Blessings explores three foundational tenets of happiness and the intersection between how eastern and western cultures perceive life satisfaction. Designed to call to mind the giant scrolls that often hang in homes and public spaces, these Chinese characters are presented in gold and backed with imagery of both Chinese and American representations of these ideas.
Xi (Happiness)
Sometimes drawn or printed in double with the two characters connected, xi can be associated with marital bliss, with double happiness appearing on wedding favors and decorations.
Young women are taught from a young age that their wedding will be the happiest day of their lives, and even that being alone is something to be feared. Singular happiness is, in some ways, a rebellious act.
Shou (Longevity)
Modern science has greatly extended human life expectancy. Some experts believe it is possible within our lifetimes for humans to live to the age of 150.
Somewhere in the cacophony of wellness culture, medical science, and traditional healing practices is the secret to holding Death at bay, just a little while longer.
Fu (Fortune)
In all things, there is a manner of luck - the element that cannot be controlled or predicted that impacts how successful our endeavors may be.
Chasing fortune can be a drug - lucky numbers, rabbits feet, and other omens and signs of auspiciousness the hits of dopamine along the way.