Prognosis (inspired by Caravaggio’s death)

the world believes you died hypothetically speaking of course

of a broken heart a septic wound a lash across your bottom

the gods dismantle your psyche turn you inside out

could you have perhaps imploded painting your mad desires

were you perhaps bound by barbarians from the east

and you could no longer define the boundaries of pleasure and pain

that you succumbed to the limits of your mortality

let’s not speak of the human condition what is it anyway

to an artist to a painter who crossed the borders of man and god

have you considered the idea that you were made flesh and bone

the gates left open you stood before them eyebrows raised

with light and heavy brush strokes you did what you had to

or perhaps you stood there in awe with your hands stroking your manhood

stoking your inner saint i apologize i must have diverged

on the topic of your death perhaps an angel with tattered wings

descended upon you in your sleep and whispered words of rancid poison

did you maybe forget to wash your hands after making love

such is the vileness of your ego

such is the dream of your art

such is my love of your death

you hoped that we might have forgotten you

we did not

i did not

you must be pleased knowing the things we say about you

about your death that you were a strange thing amongst man

your veins and thoughts filled with depictions of violence raw

i know now writing this for you the next line a eulogy dear sir:

i believe you forgot to wash your hands, you died a terrible death.

hypothesis (inspired by Caravaggio’s thoughts)

before the work is rendered within mind within brain there is an idea to be designed to be internalized and manifested call it the big bang a light bulb lit or embers blown by turbulent winds birthed into hungry bonfires

such is your idea such is your violence that when put to canvas the design is a manifestation of your inner being something longing to be free to be liberated by precise strokes mix and match the colors dull and lighten it and yet the background is a fine tint of blackness

does this darkness correspond to your emotions your heart or rather your soul i for one would like know to delve into the essence of your being and seek the source of your experiences i for one would like to understand what it is that i see that i you truly see and wish you say

if you had said it you wouldn’t have painted it and if you tried saying it and no one listened then i understand I really do maybe it is this lack of compromise with life that has brought you down this road of madness and escapism

that which provoked you denied you from the existence of god which has led me to believe and hypothesize that you are indeed a frail thing exercising his darkest desires in art form

synthesis (inspired by Caravggio’s use of light techniques and shadows)

odd the shadows behind the people almost unreal the representation of your world to the audience of onlookers it was as if you there when it happened when humans decided that they would take god’s decisions into their own hands and mete out the punishments upon fellow humans you make death look sensual you make it look easy and probably painless an epiphany perhaps of what was to come to humans or to yourself you understood the nature of death the casualness of death and that by portraying shadows and darker tones you could bring out the other side of humans you clearly saw the need for the world to idolize the deviant portion of our short-lived lives

a sensual request

head of the prophet

served on platter

…

Elancharan Gunasekaran is inspired by Dadaist movements, butoh and anarchism. He believes that humans are capable of governing themselves without the need of political systems. His art often involves experimenting with visual and literary forms on the raw aspects of the human condition, climate change and man-made/ natural phenomena.