Santa Fe New Mexico

Metaphorical Journey

The first compilation piece by Vladimir Kush, combining fifteen prior themes, Metaphorical Journey, was created in conjunction with the book of the same name. While meant to be a journey of the mind through metaphor, the goal of all Kush art, it can also be seen in relation to one’s life journey.

Looking left to right we imagine leaving home in search of our place in the world. Everything seeks its own shape in the universe, so the blue shirt is there to give form to the wind that is blowing through the empty house (Wind). Above, we also see a woman’s profile from Bound for Distant Shores as a symbol of those who are in our thoughts when we are separated. We see the snail-people from Sunset on the Beach who gave witness to the creation of the world, next to them the spherical Shell, which is also a DNA-like spherical symbol for the beginning of a human life. Here we also see the hourglass from Tide of Time, a trumpet from African Sonata lies in the sand, and a fisherman, engaged in the daily toils of life, from Sunrise by the Ocean.

Further on, we see a tree in the shape of a hand waving goodbye (In Vita Memorea), its leaves changing to butterflies that propel the ship (Departure of the Winged Ship) and the lion and lamb, two parts of the same whole, from I Saved My Soul. Next we see a moving island (Journey) like the one told of in Sinbad’s adventures. The sea turtle is also a common symbol of Hawaii. Above the island is a brain-shaped cloud, (B-Rain) symbolic of a collective consciousness that everyone and everything is connected to, and the momentary balloon cloud from Metamorphosis. We see Quixote’s windmills (Fauna of La Mancha). Finally, to remind us that these are all but imitations of what lies beneath the symbols and metaphors in the ocean of our creative subconscious, the Ripples on the Ocean are pulled back like a blanket to give us a peek at the underlying layers.