The Shepherd

March 2007

Materials: Mixed Media on Card
Dimensions: 90 x 110cm (without frame)

‘The Shepherd’ is inspired by the Tower of Babel and the negative connotations that it implies. The tower is taken to be a symbol of human over-eagerness. According to the bible, this is the reason why the city of Babylon had to fall. A similar story exists in almost all religions. Later the Rastafari movement picked up on these, and took the Tower of Babel to be a universal symbol for negative human traits.

In this piece I tried to use characterise the tower as a lighthouse or a shepherd, therefore implying that humans cannot possibly be humans without the traits that the tower represents. A net of ink is woven across the tower, holding it just like the solid blocks of colour next to it.

This piece is partially a follow-up to Nuts and Bolts