Isildur's Bane
The New York Times
Isildur's Bane
The composition consists of 7 parts: 3 on each side that culminate in the image of Frodo in Mt Doom in the middle. Both sides represent the opposites of the story and this world: there’s the good side to the right (from the point of the image) and bad side to the left. Each row talks about the same theme that plays out in a good or bad way in the story.
Painted with acrylic on paper and framed by wood sculptor Aivars Mezkazs.
Size: 825x955 mm.
Illustration for an op-ed on the NYT: "Our Bridges Are Old, Our Grid Is on the Fritz, and Soon America Will Be Obsolete"
"Most Americans don’t think about infrastructure — unless it fails to work. But when it fails, it’s not abstract — it’s personal. When transit isn’t working, everyone that drives has more traffic, and it takes a little longer to get to work. When bridges aren’t maintained, TK detours become the new normal, or worse, lead to catastrophe."
The composition consists of 7 parts: 3 on each side that culminate in the image of Frodo in Mt Doom in the middle. Both sides represent the opposites of the story and this world: there’s the good side to the right (from the point of the image) and bad side to the left. Each row talks about the same theme that plays out in a good or bad way in the story.
Painted with acrylic on paper and framed by wood sculptor Aivars Mezkazs. Size: 825x955 mm.
The bottom row has the “creation of the world” theme with the “Music of the Ainur” on the right and “Creation of the One Ring” on the left. The good side has the creation of the world made through a symphony by God and His Angels (Ainur), while the bad has Sauron creating a technology to corrupt and tyrannise that world. One is created in collaboration with love, the other shows one in rebellion, seeking to subdue it with force.
"The Music of Ainur"
"Creation of the One Ring"
"The Council of Elrond"
"The Nine Riders"
The middle row has 2 kinds of societies these respective worlds create. There’s “The Council of Elrond” on the right with unity in diversity bound by love and “The Nine Riders” with slavery to passions to the point of losing oneself to the left.
The upper row offers 2 ways of governing that society. There’s “the Return of the King” featuring the story of Aragorn with his rise to the right and “The Demise of Saruman” showing the end of the story of Saruman to the left. One proved himself worthy, the other tried to grab more and lost everything.
"The Return of the King"
"The Demise of Saruman"
These 2 sides of good and bad meet in the middle of the heart of each man as the angel and devil on the shoulders of Frodo, who has Sam and Gollum to his right and left. The tower of Sauron underneath won’t be destroyed by force, but by moral victory of the ordinary man. And even if he fails to make the right decision in the end as Frodo did, the grace he showed to Gollum before was the unexpected piece of puzzle that providentially fell into place to save the world when he could not overcome the evil one. He forgave and therefore was forgiven.