Okay, so I'll just say it now: this piece is hands down the most popular of The Gold Series. This is the first of many posts where I'll explore the meanings behind select works from The Gold Series.
"The Wanderer"- 2014
This is a piece about the search for self after diagnosis.
After realizing that, yes, my body is at war with itself because of a virus and that is okay. I am okay...It took a few dark years (two or so) to really come to terms with being #HIV Positive.
Now, few things force the newly positive to radically accept their status than dating. In the course of this long term project, I've dated a few men, three actually. Apparently I'm on a yearly cycle with them. In any case, after each relationship ended, a sense of hopelessness would course through my consciousness. I'd wonder, "Who will want me, damaged and diseased?" "Do I really have to start dating again, fully aware of how many times my status has stood in the way of being with someone otherwise into me?"
These are common questions that positive people ask themselves whether they're newly diagnosed and freaking out, or long term survivors wrestling with lingering and cyclical fears and doubts.
The Wanderer is a "spirit motif" piece, and the figure or "light being" as one of my fans calls it, represents the inner light we each carry, that hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow, full of the knowledge that each of, regardless of status, is made of stars.
In the context of The Gold Series, The Wanderer is a symbol of resilience, fortitude and unwavering search for a better version of one-self through adversity. The recurring spirit motif sees this wanderer-being as bearer of many emotions and burdens. In other pieces he is contemplating the chaos before him in the form of the unknown, in others simply standing witness to a fractured sense of self. This piece, the first "spirit motif" piece, is very dear to me. The glyphs at the bottom are actually the words, "And no matter where he went, he remembered…"I am made of stars." done in my signature loosely stacked cursive style.
Priced at $4,600 for the original. The Wanderer is also available as a print for pre-order until March 30. Prints begin shipping March 15.