“Fool’s paradise is you standing stiller, while the river rushing ‘round you is the thing you miss”.
- “Advice from a Caterpillar”, Wonderland the Musical
On the lid of the box is a portrait of a girl on a shattered magic mirror. Inscribed around it is the question, “Who are you?” followed by the command, “Deposit memories here”. It is an invitation to see beyond the lens and unlearn the identity she associated herself with.
The reference is Snowhite, particularly the Magic Mirror. I think we can start to agree that the real bad guy in Snowhite is the Magic Mirror. We all know the line, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” The Magic Mirror was the one talking to the witch, comparing her with Snowhite. The scenes with the Magic Mirror were short, and it was the witch who was acting on what he lead her to believe. We are all told that the witch was evil, but little is said about who made her the bad guy.
The girl starts to spin on her axis as soon as the lid is opened, but she is unable to go anywhere. The scissors, an invitation to cut her hair. Sure enough, the cabinet contains a bundle of doll’s hair along with a few false lashes, meaning to signify the curious phenomenon wherein girls feel the need to change their appearance, usually their hair, to represent change or the inability to inflict change in her life. Yet it is also a reference to Rapunzel, because when she has finally cut her hair, it means she is already free, and has no need to hide in her tower.
The idea to incorporate my art into a music box has lingered in my mind for a year, but I didn’t want to create this particular artwork just for the sake of it. What took me a whole year to figure out what the artwork was going to be about, I know realize, was my aversion to change. Eventually, I came across a quote that inspired me to finally create the artwork:
“What you escape to can become what you are enslaved by. Even if Egypt hurt, they never had to go hungry. They got out of Egypt, but they couldn’t get Egypt out of them.” - Steven Furtick
Perhaps it’s about time to trade the old mirror for a pair of scissors. The grass is inviting, but it is only greener where you water it.
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