3. A topsy-turvy trip

A colourful polyptych painting bringing chaotic symbolism.

suggested reading method

To best savour this artwork, please take a moment to eliminate distractions. Consider minimizing all other windows on your computer; putting other devices (phone, tv etc) aside; taking a deep breath, to the full extent of your lung capacity; and focusing solely on the “artwork” section.
Once you’ve processed that to your satisfaction, the rest of the post is optional reading, provided only to share my own impressions and reasons for choosing this piece.

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artwork

“Descendents” by James Jean. Acrylic on four canvases, 432 x 132”, 2019.

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interpretation

Please do click on the link above to see the piece at a larger size in your browser! Truly astounding in scale and detail.

I’ve noticed much of James Jean’s work deals with childlike images and mythological symbols, and this piece displays several of those. With the children falling from the sky, the flashes of lightning around them, the flowers blooming, and the broken bits of red string, there is no shortage of meanings to consider.

I’ll focus on the latter of those: in several religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, a red string worn around the wrist helps ward off bad luck, and invite strength and faith. Japanese legend also suggests a red string connects one’s heart with that of others. For this string to break suggests a state of misfortune, chaos, and isolation, reflected by the tumultuous nature of this composition. The world is topsy-turvy, as these children will confront loss of innocence and adversity in life. However, the looks on their faces suggest their wonder and curiosity might carry them through; they’ll somehow land on their feet, so to speak.

While much of Jean’s recent work is more vibrant than this one, I appreciate the restraint in this colour scheme; the bits of red are subtle against the oranges, pinks and blues, but reward the viewer for finding them.

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context

James Jean is a Taiwanese-American artist born in Taipei in 1979. He has exhibited work all over the world, often in the US and South Korea. Between 2004 and 2008, Jean illustrated several covers of the comic series Fables, which won Harvey and Eisner comic book achievement awards.

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