08 July 2016

Relics Scroll 4: Everything Happens for a Reason


For my RELICS exhibit, I made ten scrolls bearing American English platitudes that could be construed to have philosophical or spiritual meanings. See all of the scroll posts here.
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Like many of the cliches and platitudes I'm working with in this series, "everything happens for a reason" is a thing that people often say when they want to move on and move away from an uncomfortable thought or situation. "Everything happens for a reason" is often used to absent ourselves from grief and regret. But it's also a phrase that reflects the human tendency to want to make meaning from our lives. I paired this one with a portion of a verse from Ecclesiastes (Bible):
[To every thing there is a season,] and a time to every purpose under heaven
Although the verse seems to say that everything happens for a reason, Ecclesiastes 3 actually advises us to pursue our earthly activities in their proper time and order without worrying about reasons.

Tech notes: The whole background was printed on an uncarved block with circular stencils. I then added pencil lines and used pencil for the lettering. The small text (barely visible here) was done with rubber stamping.

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