MAN ON ANIMAL 2011

Here's my take on Tal R's 'Man on Animal'. The artist has used ochre, brown and yellow inks, layering the colours to create an image of a human figure on some kind of…creature? I can imagine Tal R carving the woodblock, each cut a physical decision, a back and forth. The vertical marks in the background feel like rain or bars – a sense of enclosure. And then this figure, perched on a kind of…totem? The totem's face has these staring eyes – you can almost feel the weight of the figure above pressing down. There's something ancient and primal about this print, a nod to folk art and maybe even a touch of outsider art. It reminds me how artists are constantly borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas from each other, across time and cultures. What does this image mean? I don't know, but it feels like a question worth asking.