Divine The Red Queen 2014

Dave Macdowell’s painting, "Divine The Red Queen," presents a tableau of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, now rendered through a lens of subversive symbolism. Here, the Cheshire Cat grins maniacally, brandishing a bottle labeled “Drink Me,” while the Red Queen shrieks, a flamingo poised for croquet. These motifs, born in Victorian fancy, find rebirth in a chaotic composition, reflective of the modern psyche. The anarchy symbol on Alice connects with the skulls at the bottom of the image, a symbol of the repressed, the subconscious bubbling to the surface. Consider the recurring image of the skull. From vanitas paintings reminding us of mortality to its adoption by various subcultures, the skull has long been a memento mori, a signifier of death and decay. Here, it juxtaposes childhood fantasy with the harsh realities, a visual tension that stirs deep-seated anxieties. The dreamlike, nonsensical narrative taps into our collective memory of childhood stories, now twisted into a darker reflection. This is not merely a depiction, but an experience—a journey into the depths of cultural memory.