Swan Lake 

Michael Parkes’s 'Swan Lake' is a modern painting steeped in ancient symbols. The swan, a creature of transformation, is here a central figure, echoing the tale of metamorphosis found in classical myths, and later, immortalized in Tchaikovsky’s ballet. The image is rich with symbolic weight. Note the figure resembling Pierrot playing the violin, a character born from the Commedia dell’arte, forever longing and melancholic, reflecting profound human emotions. The mirror, a symbol of self-reflection, has been with us since antiquity, reappearing in countless works of art. Here, the monkey looking into the mirror symbolizes a distorted reflection of ourselves. Consider the emotional landscape Parkes creates – a space of longing and transformation that engages our subconscious on a deep level. These archetypes echo across time, revealing the timeless dance of human emotion, forever resurfacing in our art and dreams.