Beneath the Abyss is a part of a larger series titled The Stranger in My Skin.
Inspired by the craft of scrimshaw and the 1978 novel, Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, I likened the whole act of looking inwards to the journey to the depths of the Earth. Both metaphorically and visually, I wanted to create a “flow” that wove its way down, therefore the scroll-like format.
It starts with the surface, a ship wavering above that moves from island to island. We never settle in a place for long enough, always searching for new things to discover.
As the narrative winds downwards, we have to trawl through a forest of kelp, which stands for the multitude of thoughts that would cloud our consciousness and would only surface during late nights. It also signifies the many aspects that contribute to us as a whole.
And when you think you have reached the bottom of the ocean, the darkness clears up and you realise that you have a lot more to discover. The wide expanse of the ocean trenches open up to the boundless emptiness of space, where the moon’s light is the only way you know which way is up.
This is where you start to truly find small fragments of yourself and understanding of your identity comes about. A place where no one but you can find.
Somewhere so far and deep, a place only accessible when we are truly in solitude.
