Some say that our eyes are windows to our souls. When we look into each other’s eyes long enough and when the conditions are right, perhaps it is possible to get a glimpse of what lies inside.
That very soul reaching concept forms the foundation of what I wish to articulate in this drawing. Two persons living in the same world when look into each other’s soul see something very different. The composition is very simple. Yet, I enjoyed furnishing the details as I carefully layered the different themes in building up to the concept of Into the Souls When Reality Meets Fantasy.
There are in total 7 layers including a hidden one.
In the foreground are the sea creatures followed by the ocean waves at the bottom. The third layer is the couple who are facing each other. The fourth layer is the flying creatures on top followed by the fifth layer – the moon on the left, the sun on the right, and the sunrays. The sixth layer – which also becomes harder to see and is intentional as objects closer to us reveals more details than those further – are two eyeballs that meet and slightly overlap. They are also facing each other like the couple.
To see the final and the hidden seventh layer requires a bit of imagination. It is an infinity sign if you trace the shapes of the slightly overlapped eyeballs. That is the unification of the souls, for eternity.
One final thought to share is the different types of creatures. On the left and those that belong to the boy are creatures of fantasy. Phoenixes that only exist in literature books and monstrous crabs in video games. On the right, which belongs to the girl, is what you can find in this world. Birds and crabs. Hence, what you see here is when reality and fantasy meet as the couple look into each other’s soul. That is the very contrast I wish to highlight.