Rulers of the Desolate

Rulers of the Desolate is part of my ongoing series, The Art of Deception, an investigation into power, ambition, and the human desire to ascend.

Three voluptuous figures occupy the highest positions of separate ladders above a barren landscape. Their exaggerated physical presence contrasts with the scarcity and desolation surrounding them. The ladders, traditionally associated with progress and achievement, become structures of hierarchy: the figures have reached the top, yet there is nowhere else to go.

The work emerged from an evolution in my practice. Earlier works addressed political and social concerns through recognizable people, places, and symbols. In this series, I deliberately remove those identifiers. The figures have no specific identity, nationality, or political affiliation. Power becomes human rather than belonging to a particular individual or ideology.

The landscape is equally important. While the figures possess abundance, the world beneath them has been depleted. An approaching storm introduces instability, while a small opening of light suggests that transformation may still be possible.

The painting is created using the restricted Zorn palette—red, yellow ochre, black, and white. This limitation is both practical and conceptual: a world defined by scarcity is represented through a deliberately restricted range of color.

Rather than identifying who the rulers are, Rulers of the Desolate asks a broader question: What remains below when reaching and maintaining the highest position becomes more important than the world surrounding us?

And ultimately, the question turns toward the viewer: If we reached the top ourselves, would we be different?