18 × 24 oil on canvas
Three figures move together beneath a sweeping, serpentine length of cloth, each carrying a lantern into the gathering darkness. Their procession feels both ancient and intimate, an echo of ritual, myth, and the enduring human act of carrying what has been handed to us.
The Snake We Carry explores inheritance in its many forms: the burdens, instincts, fears, wisdom, and histories that become woven into our sense of self. The snake is not simply a symbol of danger, nor something to be conquered. It holds the ambiguity of transformation itself, something ancient and instinctual that may contain both shadow and knowledge.
The lanterns offer a counterpoint. They do not banish the darkness, but allow the figures to see what they are carrying as they move through it. In that light, the painting becomes an act of discernment between what truly belongs to us, what was given to us by others, and what we have carried for so long that we have mistaken it for ourselves.
The Snake We Carry reflects on the moment we begin to see these inheritances clearly, allowing us to choose what we carry forward and what we finally leave behind.
18 × 24 oil on canvas
Three figures move together beneath a sweeping, serpentine length of cloth, each carrying a lantern into the gathering darkness. Their procession feels both ancient and intimate, an echo of ritual, myth, and the enduring human act of carrying what has been handed to us.
The Snake We Carry explores inheritance in its many forms: the burdens, instincts, fears, wisdom, and histories that become woven into our sense of self. The snake is not simply a symbol of danger, nor something to be conquered. It holds the ambiguity of transformation itself, something ancient and instinctual that may contain both shadow and knowledge.
The lanterns offer a counterpoint. They do not banish the darkness, but allow the figures to see what they are carrying as they move through it. In that light, the painting becomes an act of discernment between what truly belongs to us, what was given to us by others, and what we have carried for so long that we have mistaken it for ourselves.
The Snake We Carry reflects on the moment we begin to see these inheritances clearly, allowing us to choose what we carry forward and what we finally leave behind.
