Envy and Sorrow

“Envy and Sorrow” is a study on human insecurities that examines the connection between its titular emotions during a person’s search for individual identity. The two figures represent envy and sorrow, Envy grin-skinned and dark-haired, Sorrow blue-skinned and copper-haired. Neither makes eye contact with the viewer; Sorrow is facing away from social interaction, while Envy is turned out toward others, gazing with neither eyes nor a face, symbolizing the lack of individual volition and personal identity in a characteristically envious person. Envy’s lack of inner substance causes them self-inflicted pain, their lack of identity and self-assurance having left a smooth, bloodied wound where their face should be. At Envy’s back is Sorrow, the true root of Envy’s toxic yearning. This is symbolized by the hair of the two figures, which is braided together into a rope that binds them tightly together by their necks, ensuring they never stray very far from each other.

The original painting is no longer in the artist’s possession, but prints are sometimes still available at pop-up sales. Original piece is a combination of gel and acrylic paints on stretched canvas (varnished).