As discussed in my last post my initial ideas on my concept were considering the beginning and the end, the circle of life, and the idea of time.
Looking further into this and considering Revelation in the Bible, it seems to me that we could be in the time of revelation.
Let's start with the plague of Locusts, locusts appear many times in the bible but they are a symbol of end times - the bible states: in Revelation 9.1-7 '1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. 7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads, they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.'
Then there is a plague - with Covid we certainly have this however it is important to note that we have had plagues many times in our history, The Black Death, Spanish Flu, HIV/AIDS and Cholera - these are the big ones.
HIV/AIDS - The figures at present stand at 60 million people infected and 25 million have died. We are still fighting this throughout the world.
The Black Death (1347-1351) This ravaged Europe and in the space of four years took at least 75 million lives but some estimate up to 200 million.
Spanish Flu - This began in 1918 and ended quickly in 1919 but affected a third of the world's population and took 50 million lives.
Why am I discussing these unhappy topics in relation to my concept? As I have chosen Expressionism as the theme for my work I think the concept here would go well as the German Expressionists depicted the horrors of war. Consider these images from Otto Dix:
These images of horror remind me also of Goya's Disasters of War
Although in my own lifetime I have not seen the horror of war in the UK. there are many wars still raging around the world and as I was stating at the beginning about revelation there is a feeling that though this might not be end times - it certainly is a moment where the world will be changed after this pandemic.
References
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (05/03/20) The Five Deadliest Outbreaks and Pandemics in History [Online] Available from: https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2013/12/the_five_deadliesto.html (Accessed 11/01/21)
KD Outsider Art (10/06/14) Otto Dix: The Madness of Modern Warfare [Online] Available from: https://kdoutsiderart.com/2014/06/10/otto-dix-the-madness-of-modern-warfare/ (Accessed 11/01/21)
BBC Future Planet (07/08/20) The Biblical Locust Plagues of 2020 [Online] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200806-the-biblical-east-african-locust-plagues-of-2020 (Accessed 11/01/21)
Bible Study Tools (08/05/20) Locusts in the Bible [Online] Available from: https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/locust-in-the-bible/ (Accessed 11/01/21)
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