THE DEATH OF BLISS

The concept of my painting revolves around the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. This painting is composed of oils and an acrylic underpainting, spanning six feet tall and four feet wide. The scene represents an intimate aftermath between them after they’ve been cast out from Eden after biting the forbidden apple, now being faced with the eternal suffering they will endure as punishment. Unable to eat from the Tree of Life, they are now introduced to the reality of mortality and death. Doomed with original sin, they have birthed a legacy where they will have to live in shame, guilt, and condemnation until they die.

They have fled Eden, grabbing any sort of fabric to cover their naked form (now one of sin instead of innocence), and lost themselves in a dark place -- one of black nothingness and devoid of the luxurious nature and splendidness that the Garden bore: A physical manifestation of their dubious subconsciousness. In most paintings, Adam and Eve are either living fruitfully or being immediately banished from Eden. I instead created a moment post-banishment, now left to protect themselves as “one flesh” (the biblical metaphor for marriage and holy union) in the midst of their unknown future and that of their unfortunate kin, who will be generationally tormented between desire and consequence. They are forced into a cruel world where they’ll suffer and return to the same “dust” they were created from.

They’re too ashamed to face each other, with Adam looking away and brooding while Eve retreats herself into Adam’s grim embrace as they are confronted with their fate. Comparatively, we find ourselves bound by our transgressions unto ourselves and unto others as we strive to become our own artificial gods.

“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

“Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh – two people becoming one flesh!”