Yin Yang

1” diameter

1997

oil on paper, acrylic, brass, gutta percha

The smallest of my paintings, this was a commissioned work for a friend who had discovered a late nineteenth-century daguerreotype enclosure that was round, and made from the earliest form of plastic.  An albino bat hovers over an African American girl, and a black bat flies above a Caucasian girl, with complementary colors playing an additional role.  Compositionally devised to make effective use of its circular shape, this painting can be viewed from multiple vantage points, whether upside down or from the left or right, depending on the prerogatives of each individual.  The top and bottom are embossed with an identical design, which I painted and gold leafed.  I’ve shown the top lid here.