Oxygen, study
36" X 48" oil on canvas Available from the studio For information ... Contact us The back label writing ... An Evolving Story. A panicked lobe-finned ancestor raced into the shallows with a large predator snapping at its tail. Momentum drove them both into the surf, and the lobe-finned struggled up the beach on its sturdy fins, out of reach. The disappointed predator turned and scrambled back to deeper water. Still wary, the lobe-finned remained for a short time, gasping at the surf's edge. The rising tide was its salvation and it returned to the sea unharmed. After few million years, the lobe-finned who adopted this vital escape technique survived. Those who didn't, perished. But the predators were evolving too. Eventually they learned to wait in ambush and their patience was rewarded when the gasping lobe-finned were forced to return to the sea. So the lobe-finned who adapted to survive the longest in thin air were the ones who lived. A few million generations later, returning to the sea wasn’t worth the risk. That was 400 million years ago: the beginning of one planet split into two polarized worlds, separated by how the life forms of each, harvest the life-giving gas known as ... oxygen. Writing has long been a integral part of Mark Heine's creative process. In the pursuit of his original artistic voice, Mark's writing has evolved to become the driving force behind his work and has led him to envision a world of his own creation. Sirens, the culmination of 44 years exploration, is inspired by the sea-nymphs, made famous in Homer's Odyssey. These underwater visions of mythological muse are rooted in the moments of an ongoing and developing fictional narrative. This complex narrative, involving human evolution and our natural environment, is the unifying conceptual thread that ties these surreal visions. |
"Oxygen, study" is featured on the album cover of "Sirens Song" by Harry Christophers "The Sixteen" choral ensemble in the UK
"Oxygen, study" was selected as a semi finalist, from 7500 worldwide entries in the 16th ARC Salon for 2022/23