NATURE OF NATIONS, 2019
watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 76 x 56 cm each.
Nature of Nations (2019) is watercolor portrait series of national animals, inspired by heraldic design, geographical borders, folk fables and stereotypes.
Each work in the series portrays a black-washed watercolor animal symbol centered on the paper. A bird of prey, the bald eagle, freed from the USA coat of arms with a halo made of two olive branches is staring at the viewer, its claw is empty of a weapon. An outraged bear with double-headed eagle head instead of feet and wings instead of paws, is a combination of two symbols, the bear of Soviet Russia and the double-headed eagle of contemporary Russia. A seductive double-headed female rooster of France is flirting with the audience. The national animal of Italy, a wolf, with the boot-shaped body, mimicking its country's geographical borders, looks conformed but joyful with its tongue out. A European rabbit of Monaco is generating the smell of money. A smirking sexy fox of Algeria stands or A goat of Iraq is toped with a sword-shaped horn, all these symbolic animalistic creatures make up Nature of Nations dictionary, a geographical zoo of personalities, individual in its nature and representative of its nation.
Images:
1.Eagle, USA 2.Bear-Eagle, Russia 3.Rooster, France 4.Barbary Ape, Gibraltar 5.Llama, Bolivia 6.Fennec Fox, Algeria 7.Goat, Iraq 8.Wolf, Italy 9.Bison, Belarus 10.Dodo, Mauritius 11.Pine Marten, Croatia 12.Lion, UK 13 Rabbit, Monaco 14.Lemur, Madagascar