The client gave me complete artistic freedom for a surrealist nature piece.
Like all my surrealist pieces, I started this with no plan conceptually. Genuinely, there was no design other than to look cool, but without fail, the concept emerged as I painted.
"An elephant never forgets" The masters of memory. It's pretty obvious why humans don't claim that title as a species. Out of an infinite number of stimuli we interact with every day, only some will reach long term, but a few feel so vivid in our minds that no matter how long ago it happened, it will never be forgotten... but if they are, who's to say?
Memory Lane.
Good or bad, do you have a choice? There are things you wish you could forget and things you wish you would have remembered, I'm sure.
We don't really choose which memories stay with us: represented by the tree on fire & the not on fire trees.
Memories evolve.
Ever been cheated on? Suddenly all your memories are altered with this new information. Maybe you remember screaming at your parents in a fight that looking back on... they were right about. "
Hindsight is 20/20"... ha. Memories change over time: represented by the mushrooms on the elephant & the use of trees on each island.
Memories of the mind.
Technically we dream every REM cycle. Only some get remembered, but of course, there are the dreams we can all still recite. Some good, others nightmares.
Memories include thoughts that aren't even part of this reality: represented by the window on the moon for the Man On the Moon to watch our dreams at night like late show TV.
OTHER LIL DETAILS:
- the boy sitting under the trees is trying to remember something. the fish swimming by are different memories.
- things we see on the internet or other people's memories can become our own... i'll be quoting vines until I die. represented by the trees and mushrooms growing out of the TVs.
- past CORE memories usually come with a flood of influence on the next stage in life. represented by the waterfall/river.
* closing scene of Breakfast Club plays in the background softly*
don't you forget about me