They are Beasts 

Erik Thor Sandberg made this painting, "They are Beasts," depicting a hauntingly surreal scene. Sandberg's art invites us to consider the beastly aspects of humanity through a lens of allegorical symbolism. The female figure’s ambiguous expression and the vulnerability of the infant are placed in stark contrast with the imagery of death and the grotesque figures covered in eyes. What histories haunt this painting? What personal demons is Sandberg exorcising? The ghostly white sheet covering the deer perhaps symbolizes hidden truths or obscured realities. This assemblage conjures questions about innocence, corruption, and the hidden aspects of ourselves that we often try to ignore. Sandberg seems to suggest that within the most refined of settings, primal and unsettling forces persist, shaping our perceptions and behaviors. It is an emotional tableau. Sandberg challenges us to confront the darker elements that dwell within the human psyche, those aspects that render us, at times, beasts.