This series was inspired by some candy bar art pieces that my daughter made for a school project. They now sit proudly on display in my private collection.
There are several different sides of me, faces that are displayed to different folks at different times. I have worked a lifetime to fashion and manipulate the version of me that I allow others to see. Some of this image preparation is done to:
- Hide the embarrassing stuff so that you won't make fun of me.
- Make me come across as more intelligent than I am because of my pride.
- Distract you from the areas of sin that are all too pervasive in my life.
- To make me appear happy and adjusted so that you don't see how far off center I really am.
- Make me come across as confident so that you don't have reason to scratch at the thin veneer that covers the real me.
What is interesting about the persona of myself that I have crafted over the years is that it was not created just for me to drape over myself whenever I go out into public, something to fool the masses, that is then hung up in the closet when I get home. More and more it seems that my costume has been designed mainly to fool me, so that I can look in the mirror and not see what a mess I am and the problems that I have brought about in my life. My worst moments seem to be when I somehow catch a glimpse beneath my shroud and see what is actually there. That true me is not an attractive, kind, humble, or confident man. More appropriate descriptors would be lonely, sinful, fragile, unhappy, driven by lusts, desperate, lost.
The first part of the art project focused on forming something literal. My daughter chose a candy bar. Looking at what she made, you can almost taste the yummy goodness of the real thing.
(Part 1 of 3)
