Macabre By Design
Installation, Canvas
2022—01-27
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA
Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Around the time my baby boy was teething, I came across an image on the internet of a toddler’s skull, where all the soon-to-be-Adult teeth are already there as secondary rows of teeth, waiting for the right time to emerge.
Taken aback by the horror that such monstrosity can exist behind the facade of my cute baby son’s face, I was also impressed by the brilliance of this biological design and began to question why one might see it as rather frightening, at least at the onset.
Perhaps, it’s adulthood itself that is what’s frightening, and the idea that the children we bring into the world would sooner or later have to face it is what horrifies us. Maybe we can’t quite handle the thought of seeing their innocence and playfulness eroded by the harsh realities we ourselves have contributed to designing for them, or at least have failed to alter for them. If the worst of what we’ve seen in our lifetime hasn’t quite perished, then perhaps it’s inevitable our offspring will see them too. Even if they remain hidden from sight for the time being, waiting for the right time to emerge.
But maybe, just maybe, those adult teeth hidden within the structure of our children’s skulls are a sign that they are in a way predesigned to take on adulthood and evertyhing that comes with it. That if and when necessary, they’re ready to show their teeth.
Around the time my baby boy was teething, I came across an image on the internet of a toddler’s skull, where all the soon-to-be-Adult teeth are already there as secondary rows of teeth, waiting for the right time to emerge.
Taken aback by the horror that such monstrosity can exist behind the facade of my cute baby son’s face, I was also impressed by the brilliance of this biological design and began to question why one might see it as rather frightening, at least at the onset.
Perhaps, it’s adulthood itself that is what’s frightening, and the idea that the children we bring into the world would sooner or later have to face it is what horrifies us. Maybe we can’t quite handle the thought of seeing their innocence and playfulness eroded by the harsh realities we ourselves have contributed to designing for them, or at least have failed to alter for them. If the worst of what we’ve seen in our lifetime hasn’t quite perished, then perhaps it’s inevitable our offspring will see them too. Even if they remain hidden from sight for the time being, waiting for the right time to emerge.
But maybe, just maybe, those adult teeth hidden within the structure of our children’s skulls are a sign that they are in a way predesigned to take on adulthood and evertyhing that comes with it. That if and when necessary, they’re ready to show their teeth.