Heirloom Painting

The subject of the painting, is an antique vase filled with an arrangement of flowers, suspended above a diagram of a black hole. ‘The more we learn about the universe around us, the more it puts the human condition in to sharp perspective, our beliefs, our priorities and things upon which we place value. We place value on relationships, objects, sentiment, also upon life itself, when in terms of physics, all of those things are simply borrowed atoms and residual energy, that existed long before you existed and might go on to exist for an incomprehensibly long time afterwards. The black hole is the perfect metaphor for measuring concepts of value. All matter is the same to it, and there’s little or no way of knowing what it’s ever growing contents were before they were drawn in. In theory both planet earth and the same mass of dog s**t, diamonds or squeaking rubber ducks would register identically were they to be swallowed by a black hole. A place where even light can’t escape and time looses any meaning. It is a final destination, a crushing inevitability in which everything is equal. A pretty vase of flowers consists of a beautiful object, lovingly crafted, perhaps passed down over generations which also serves as the container and temporary preserver of life. It is something in which you might find value, broth practical and sentimental. But to the universe of which you are also a part, it means the same as any other combination of particles.’