Coven

My recent painting "Coven" is about how people are forced to become alike when they join a group, or are inducted into a profession or religion or a political sect or material status. In some cases if they stick to their individuality they are harassed or even fired. Psychiatric labels add to the mix by pointing to similarities with people who are different yet share common attributes, so we have a coven of "challenged folks" or "autistic" children.

​We live in a world of charmed circles, elites in-groups, or rejects of society like the homeless. Thus we don’t have to real see individuals in that group, or feel for them.

Originally the word coven described witches, women who exalted nature and believed in magic and were hung for it. They were not seen as individual women but an anti-religious cult, religions propagated by men. And we now see the result of maligning these women, eco failure en mass.

Our society wants to see groups and organize accordingly. Individuality is not allowed; too much bother to relate to a person at that level. It would require intimacy, compassion and interest, a coming out of our ego to really see another human being. A fear of being touched by another's view, a fear of the unravelling of one's fragile ego.