I wanted the viewer to feel pulled into this world. The “eye-sun” takes inspiration from the wood inlay "Magnum Chaos" by Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto. This “eye-sun” is also influenced by the zodiac wheel representing the sun's yearly journey and the ancient Hebrew celestial depictions of the Ophanim. I researched the small religious iconography from multiple cultures to add Medieval Latin text marginalia (ca. 12th–15th centuries). For example, gourds that symbolize "man's redemption" (Renaissance art, ca. 15th–17th centuries), which are positioned opposite the apple ("the Fall of Man"). Additionally, there are flying books famously associated with knowledge (Ancient Egypt c. 3000 BCE) and gold from South American civilizations (i.e., the Incas, ca. 13th–16th centuries), who believed gold was fragments or manifestations of the sun that brought prosperity.

Five angelic embodiments of myself encircle the “eye-sun.” In the lower left corner is a one-winged figure as the scale of personhood itself. An owl, a symbol of death in some Native American tribes, pulls this figure, representing the division of humanity trying to balance ignorance and growth. The upper right two angels represent my family, the only place a piece of my soul is outside of mine. One turned away from the “eye-sun,” reaching for pears (incarnation). This angel personifies the passing of my older brother and mother, while the other figure clinging to the angel, reaching for pears, personifies my older sister and father's bond with the dead. The final diagonal pair embodies my conflicting forces, originating from the idea of the Roman gods Minerva (wisdom) and Mars (war). The figure positioned at the upper left, taking on brutality with no wings, holds a bloody dagger of envy with a goldfinch (a Christian Renaissance symbol for healing) right behind. The bottom right figure offers a carnation ("the flower of god" in Greece) to the "eye-sun," building trust and using strategy rather than impulsiveness.

This piece is part of my creative efforts to use multidisciplinary art direction to explore how visual language can hold memory. This project meant a lot to me as I researched many cultures and eras to create my perspective of life's basic meaning. But immortality, to me, in my central eye, is the fulfillment of each day as a test for redemption. The drawing isn’t meant to answer the Latin translation. Instead, to question life is a question of death that sets my philosophy of understanding what we choose to keep when time changes our lives.

The artwork was presented during Mizzou Fall Research Day 2025. Alongside the original artwork, I designed presentation posters to communicate the research, source imagery, symbols, process, and cultural references behind the piece; this project page also includes photographs from the event.