"In Mother of Pearl, Cremation Ground Meditation /Indra's Net (2025), the central figure, an elongated commanding angel, is immersed within a metaphorical net. The net creates a sacred ground, and alludes to a cosmic net that covers the entire universe, a Hindu and Buddhist Cosmology that describes interconnectedness and interdependence. As in most of Black's works, the components are laden with symbolic importance. A red ribbon at the top of the net is connected to a tree and hence the earth."
"Personal, fictitious and historical imagery are incorporated into works that are rooted in figuration, but explore lyricism, abstraction and surrealism. Black says: "I include a lot of different people, animals and things in my paintings, from different moments in time, and also unnamed things, more abstract forms. In Taoist and Buddhist writings, they call this "the ten thousand things" which represents all the material diversity of the universe.""
"Symbolism is used to enrich narratives and add layers of meaning thereby inviting the viewer to make connections beyond the literal. The cycle of mortality, a spiritual concept of life, death and rebirth, is a recurring theme in the work. Black aims to create a pictorial language that rests just below the conscious surface. The paintings resist a singular interpretation, preferring to leave some questions unanswered, as they are in life."
Cosmic Zoo presents paintings centered on spiritual practice and the search for unnamed connections among living beings. The works merge personal, fictitious, and historical imagery within a figurative framework while embracing lyricism, abstraction, and surrealism. A featured canvas places an elongated angel inside a metaphorical Indra's Net, signaling universal interconnectedness through symbolic elements like ribbons, trees, and ladybugs. Recurring themes include mortality, life, death, and rebirth, and a pictorial language that operates beneath conscious awareness. The paintings intentionally resist singular interpretation and integrate organic and artificial forms into layered, image-within-image compositions.
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