Vignet met rog 1892

Here is Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof’s vignette with a ray, rendered with ink. The ray, a creature of the sea, embodies a unique duality—graceful in motion yet strangely unsettling in form. Throughout history, aquatic creatures have surfaced as symbols of the subconscious, of that which lies beneath the surface of our awareness. Carl Jung might argue that the ray, with its flattened form and hidden depths, represents aspects of ourselves we often fail to acknowledge. Consider the ancient depictions of sea monsters, creatures born of the human imagination, reflecting our fears and fascination with the unknown. The ray, like these mythical beings, evokes a primeval response. We are drawn to its alien beauty, yet simultaneously repelled by its unfamiliar shape. This push and pull is indicative of the complex relationship we have with our subconscious, a realm of endless possibilities and lurking shadows. The persistent recurrence of sea creatures suggests our collective psyche remembers.