WIPs and finished version of @charcoalfeather‘s commission of her character, Ardalion Ivanovich Mayakov, from her exceptional series, Blue Star .
I hope this is to your satisfaction!
The concept behind the surreal imagery, somewhat jolting from the original concept of a more ordinary and domestic setting, is that Ardalion, because he is an outspoken iconoclast and rebel, and rejects and dismisses traditional morality and ideas, is a sort of the Romantic's idea of an Adam- hence the apple, representing knowledge, stemming from doubt, because doubt spurs on the pursuit of knowledge. Thus, this explains his insistence on applied subjectivity in every aspect of life and society. The black color and red letter were intended to evoke an unsettling contrast. On the apple, the letters spell out, “Doubt”. Hence, when he begins questioning the traditional ethics and morals his elders have imposed him, he rebels.
The text wrapping, reading the word “Rebel”, around can mean to show that rebellion, while, liberating, has a consuming effect on some people. The letters incrementally become distorted to indicate the corrosive effect his excessive iconoclasm has on himself and his way of thinking.
The books being pierced by fierce-looking arrows represent, how he views traditional morality being dismantled by 20th century thinking and major social upheaval, and since major tenets of traditional morality rely on religious text, the books represent the text they have labeled on them: “Tradition”.
