This is my piece which I have entered into Talenthouse.com’s Florence + The Machine contest. The voting period for this contest may be over but my gratitude towards everyone’s support is unceasing. Thank you so much everyone! :) It has been an overwhelming week.
Only If For A Night is a song that has haunted me for a long while. It was an echo in my mind which I had difficulty in visually grasping. There was so much vibrancy and a lightness of being that I wanted to capture. And the chorus thumped and hit me over and over:
Then I heard your voice as clear as day,
And you told me I should concentrate,
It was all so strange,
And so surreal,
That a ghost should be so practical.
The sentiment was so beautiful and I wanted it so much to permeate through the graphic. I understood it as taking inspiration and wisdom from loved ones who have departed. Upon later research, I’ve read somewhere that Florence wrote this in reference to her grandmother. Knowing that made me feel that a butterfly was a symbolically apt metaphor for the song. They are often regarded as physical manifestations of souls in asian superstition.
If chosen, this artwork will be exhibited and auctioned. Proceeds of the sales would go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Ultimately the winning artwork will be chosen by Florence, but your votes really do help send a message of interest. Once again, you all have my unending thanks. Here’s to hoping for this success!
The body encased in class in the center of the altar is the embalmed body of the Monastery’s founder, Yue Kai
