Lava Quest—Stephen Gibb, 36″ x 24″, oil on panel, 2020

Maybe it’s not even fair to call what I do Contemporary Surrealism or even Surreal Art. The presentation may make the viewer recall surrealism from their scant art history lessons in high school but the surreal art of scholarly examination relates to something from long ago and far away—produced under an entirely different mind set and time period. What I do with my fractured logic and characters of a fantastic nature are narrative tools and devices, akin to the characters and stories in a Grimm’s fairy tale. On the surface is a personified eruption of molten lava, but what is present in connotations and associations below the surface is the real message, awaiting extraction.

The Lava Quest

Being in a state of engineered subjugation leaves an individual always longing and aspiring to elevate their standing, improve their quality of life and notch their status up the prestige ladder. It’s the nature of consumerist and capitalist society—what fuels the churn of the “daily grind” and the unfulfilling drudgery of the workweek. What is often at work is a psychological sense of inadequacy, a nagging impulse to keep up with the Jonses and relentless social climbing.

Humpty has a broken cup. He sees the object of his desire—the “holy grail” cup across the molten abyss and his quest becomes clear. Through much sacrifice he takes up the challenge, burning others on his way, using them to keep his balance. At one end of the rope he struggles in a psychological representation on himself, literally losing his mind and destroying his physical self in the process. He faces death across the abyss, which is holding the other end of the rope mockingly in his grinning teeth.

The land he leaves behind is essentially a prison, mindless and without hope. The land he crosses over to is where the mind resides, swimming in a vat of Kool-Aid and disguised with a smiling façade. A turnip tries desperately to carve a crown out of his own flesh but in doing so illustrates the absurdity of the entire image.

Innocent witnesses are found in the pear man and the goldfish, taking in the scene with surprise and trepidation. The fishhook forms a “question mark”, emphasising the wonder and confusion of the activity. The only character being true to his nature is the lava, blissfully erupting without concern to those around him.

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21st Century Surrealism

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