107/1924 and 148/1924: Do you see the pug?

Image 107/1924 from the 1924 Pieces of Me collection

As I look at piece number 107/1924 (also known as Position 3, Colour Scheme) I see the face of dog, perhaps a pug or bulldog gazing back at me. From a different angle I see a gaunt, elongated, skeletal face gazing back at me from dark, cavernous eyes. Perhaps, I see the skull of a diseased deceased warrior in a viking helmet, complete with a spike. One minute a gholish warrior, one minute a dog. These changes are perhaps a metaphor for the way in which our perception of our imagined self changes with observation? I wonder. Gazing in to the eyes of the skull-like face, I suddenly see two robed figures, faceless and knelt in prayer. Have I found my desperation hidden in plain sight within the image in these two anonymous monastic individuals?

“Not much,” says my son (aged 11), when I ask him what he sees in this one. “I kind of see a map,” says my daughter (aged 9) as she looks on. “These are the planets, these are the rivers in between?” she pauses and considers. “This area is extra sandy.” I think she meant islands, rather than planets, but who am I to correct her thinking/imagination/perception? Who am I to correct her.

As I look at the “sandy area” she pointed to, I wonder if I can see two hippopotamuses dreaming at a monochrome waterhole.

Image 148/1924

Piece number 148/1924 (also known as Position 3, Colour Scheme 44) shows the pug’s floppy-eared face (to me) in a starker relief than the earlier piece of me. Here the pug’s mouth hangs open a little. I wonder if in fact it is the pug wearing the spiked helmet in this incarnation. My mind recalls the transformation of Cringer to Battle Cat in the He-Man cartoons of my youth, and the more recent sequel. His armour (and helmet) became a symbol of his transformation from “coward” to “brave”. I suppose I had already had memories of the villanous Skeletor in the earlier gaunt skull face. Do we all have armour hidden within us? Certainly, I recognise the sense of fear. Lost again in the image: I notice the Cheshire Cat-coloured hippopotami drinking at the oasis.

What do you see? Tell me on Twitter @1924_me

Where does the artist end and the image begin?

The full collection of 1924 Pieces of Me will be available on Opensea to view and collect. Find out more.

You can also explore the collection on YouTube at the 1924 Pieces of Me channel.

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Written by The Artist Embodied on 09 August 2022