circular ruins creation

2002
korean egg tempera on bristol board
19" x 24"

"he wanted to dream a man. he wanted to dream him completely, in painstaking detail, and impose him upon reality."
—jorge luis borges: the circular ruins

okay, so i painted the image of pinnochio from the back of a disney dvd case. the assignment was to read the circular ruins by jorge luis borges and do a series inspired by the story. it's about a man who decides he wants to dream up a man and bring him to life. he goes to a temple, sees a vision and thinks that it's a sign; he then devotes his life to sleeping, only to come to the realization that he is, in fact, a figment of another man's imagination.

pinnochio appears larger than life to convey an overall tone that's slightly unsettling and marginally sinister.