{ "time": 1778136199100, "blocks": [ { "id": "pPq7GjtBMt", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Unveiling the Echoes: Why This Is the Most Important Collection of My Career", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "mSP9DID9Hj", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Every artist eventually reaches a point of creative reckoning—a moment where the desire to create beautiful things is overtaken by an urgent, unavoidable need to say something true. " } }, { "id": "Om_Io8z3ln", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "For me, that reckoning is Veiled Echoes. " } }, { "id": "DHazSc-Yl1", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "This body of work is, without question, the most important and daunting collection I have ever undertaken. It was born not from a place of quiet contemplation, but from a profound, boiling frustration with the world we live in. As a species, humans exist in a state of terrifying cognitive dissonance. We are actively destroying the very ecological systems we depend on for survival. Simultaneously, we have built entire economies around the exploitation, commodification, and systematic abuse of wildlife and domesticated animals for profit, research, and entertainment. We clear our ancient, native old-growth forests, turn a blind eye to ecological collapse, and tolerate unimaginable cruelty—all under the convenient veil of modern progress." } }, { "id": "XzeU2EGccI", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Veiled Echoes is my refusal to look away. The \"veil\" is the collective denial we wrap ourselves in for comfort. The \"echoes\" are the suffering, the loss, and the uncomfortable truths that linger just beneath the surface of our everyday lives." } }, { "id": "COWiUOR3bZ", "type": "delimiter", "data": {} }, { "id": "CF16VYfMcA", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Chapter One: The Hen House", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "v0fOUvf8QN", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "To begin pulling back this veil, I had to look at what we accept as ordinary. The inaugural set of paintings in this collection focuses heavily on a dark industry hidden in plain sight right here in our own backyard: Australian egg production." } }, { "id": "aoMk58zDdg", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "This series is called The Hen House." } }, { "id": "CmOFH69FPn", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In Australia, millions of intelligent, social layer hens spend their entire lives trapped in industrialized systems. Despite a growing public demand for \"free-range\" alternatives and highly publicized legislative promises of future phase-outs, the reality on the ground remains grim. Millions of birds are still confined to conventional battery cages—spaces so tight they cannot stretch a wing, walk, or perform the basic natural behaviours inherent to their existence. They stand on wire floors, processed as mere biological machines, until they are spent and quietly discarded." } }, { "id": "2qGPFeKl2Y", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Even within the heavily marketed \"free-range\" sectors, legal stocking densities and corporate loopholes mean that the idyllic pasture life consumers imagine is often just another layer of the veil." } }, { "id": "cDpxTfzH3o", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Hen House does not aim to decorate a wall. Through simple lines, stark contrasts, and deceptive beauty, these paintings are designed to collapse the distance between the consumer and the consumed. They force us to confront the living, breathing cost of our morning breakfast." } }, { "id": "UolVM75V6G", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "This collection is uncomfortable, and it was uncomfortable to paint. But art has a duty to echo the truths we are running out of time to hear. " } }, { "id": "_7uRLi3J8Z", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Hen House is just the tip of the iceberg." } }, { "id": "Z9QhmyxnM8", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8MarrO2pvSMmjR1sZiJnV0bCD3XTE8yq7IwHc9l" } } }, { "id": "xcn-gaW7wi", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Inside The Hen House: The Six 1/1 Pieces", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "emNWfohGk3", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "To look into The Hen House is to look into a system built on engineered amnesia. We buy the carton; we ignore the life. These six digital paintings are an autopsy of that convenience, exposing the stark reality of what life looks like for the millions of sentient beings trapped behind closed barn doors in Australia. " } }, { "id": "-V_wwAri7G", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "1. Stark Reality", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "7LDadLerL9", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "In Australia, 11 million layer hens live in commercial battery operations. While a national phase-out of battery cages is slated for 2036, the reality is far from a victory." } }, { "id": "sys43YTSOC", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Stark Reality explores here is the loophole of \"Enriched Cages\" and \"Barn-laid Systems\"—rebranding their confinement offers little more than a new name for an old cruelty. This piece visualizes the deceptive nature of policy versus the unchanging truth of the cage. " } }, { "id": "OBkr06vGtl", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "
", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8MaJ9yQ0efsZUFf3PHbtpmX8vlAMKja9x60dNiq" } } }, { "id": "8szBWzvWtt", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "2. Crammed", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "xYrpXGqBjG", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "How do you visualize an A4 piece of paper as a lifetime of living? In Australia, 18 hens are forced into a single square metre—giving each bird just 550cm² of space. For up to 22 months, this claustrophobic footprint is their entire world. This painting captures the suffocating pressure of being Crammed, challenging the viewer to feel the weight of that A4-sized existence next time they reach for an egg. " } }, { "id": "6hrT-YK8UV", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8MaqebIFac0tEOCq1iHcWM6FD4Xar2KLbZpA3B7" } } }, { "id": "5MUjTtFx-L", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "3. Spotlit", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "lwJOmV_bxi", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Nature is governed by the sun, but the industry is governed by the switch. Spotlit represents the 16 hours of daily artificial light used to manipulate the biological limits of the hen. By stripping away the darkness, the industry denies these creatures the fundamental cycle of rest. This work uses harsh, unnatural hues to depict a life lived under a permanent, forced noon. " } }, { "id": "Xswq9Fem1b", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8Maslo9Yc7k83gS6JE1rtQXpKeWuNOlqHhmijLb" } } }, { "id": "DLBZ4Sl7zQ", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "4. Touch Grass", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "uAjzpq0bQI", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The term \"Free Range\" is often a marketing mask. In Australia, nearly 65% of the national layer flock—16 million hens—are classified as free-range, yet they are often jammed 10,000 to a hectare. The Touch Grass narrative exposes the dust-filled, vegetation-less paddocks that fail the birds' needs. It stands in stark contrast to the rare gold standard of Pasture-Based Mobile Caravans, where hens can finally act on the impulses they were born with. " } }, { "id": "Xk2NMvZuZR", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8Maz0H27HsionxgShTK7dvYAsjb9It4cCJHVaWm" } } }, { "id": "feV2Dw9c8w", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "5. Lights Out", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "9aHX3TF8Y3", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The cost of efficiency is measured in carcasses. With an annual mortality rate of 5%, approximately 550,000 Australian hens die in cages every year from preventable horrors: starvation, heat stress, and cannibalism. Lights Out is a sombre tribute to the half-million souls who never make it out of the system, falling victim to conditions that are as inhumane as they are avoidable. " } }, { "id": "cjUja7JIIq", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8MaSleBx9dmYcagbdD1ZnMyKjt59PEuSW03o2Xi" } } }, { "id": "6WlcqUtOwG", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "6. Rainbow Dreams", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "Z2o_owu-QW", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Beneath the feathers of a domesticated hen lies the spirit of the Red Junglefowl. Rainbow Dreams visualizes the instincts the industry tries to snuff out: the desire to perch high in a tree, the relief of a dust bath, the privacy of a secluded nest, and the complex social order of the flock. It is a vibrant, heartbreaking look at what a hen should be, ending with a simple, powerful directive: Choose the kinder option. " } }, { "id": "W2Uplb7A4y", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8Ma8UJLhsfGZkfvmIhTiyj2MAFSXpgbqd9468r7" } } }, { "id": "Cx8ww31leR", "type": "delimiter", "data": {} }, { "id": "_VoncjtQ9y", "type": "header", "data": { "text": "The Release: A Shared Investment in Truth", "level": 2 } }, { "id": "AIF0EsG22r", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Because Veiled Echoes is a departure from my conventional art, its release demands a different kind of ownership model—one built on community, longevity, and a shared commitment to independent, boundary-pushing creative work." } }, { "id": "ro7YsZvoWw", "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The Hen House Collection of six 1/1 digital paintings is available in its entirety, in exchange for a 5 million ACS Forever Subscription to my pool on Access Protocol. It can be claimed directly on Access Rewind." } }, { "id": "zvuEssNE1f", "type": "delimiter", "data": {} }, { "id": "n7lOWcRcKx", "type": "image", "data": { "caption": "", "withBorder": false, "withBackground": false, "stretched": false, "file": { "url": "https://utfs.io/f/6Yh6QahDx8MaVQYBlyAJAC6bRHKylkWivEnaPg3UQIDV0d4o" } } } ], "version": "2.30.7" }