Prints
For this print, I wanted to combine the story of both a bird and a cat. The bird is a raven, and the skull is of a housecat. It is titled “Predator Defeated”.
In creating a story for this piece, I felt that the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley does well in describing the transformation and defeat that I believe I did well in depicting in the print.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
The narrative for this piece includes the idea that is usually deemed to be prey finally takes victory from the predator, and we see the predator has rotted away into decay and fungus. The bird, being a raven, is most of the time associated with the idea of death, rebirth, intelligence, wisdom, and transformation. Personally, I associate this piece to be a representation of the rebirth and transformation into the kind of person I am now. A cats’ skull is used because it is the depiction of death, with the mushrooms and growth growing from what is left behind. This is meant to be seen as how the predator, the cat, has been defeated by the prey, the bird, and is now rotting away as the bird stands to be greater than what the cat once was. The bird in flight with wings encircling the head of the skull does part in creating an interesting form and affecting the visual appeal of the piece. Viewers are meant to feel unease by looking at the piece, as it is very dark, and does seem to use death as a method of portraying a message. Within the printing processes, I found that repeated prints but with different colors creates an interesting affect that can make the interest of the piece stand out.