ARTCHALLENGE #18, My take on a surreal painting by Rafal Olbinski

It's been a while since I've participated in any Steem contests, and I really miss them, so I'm double-posting today to participate. Also, I'm more awake at night, so it's easier to post more thoughtfully.

So now I will try to interpret this interesting and fun piece by Rafal Olbinski.

1 - Culture. I see multiple depths of reality buried in this piece. The paintings on the wall are a familiar reality of art history; a Picasso in the corner, echoing the fourth wall of this piece, adds depth to the primary reality. Aside from the spartan furnishings, the paintings add life to the room.

2 - Survival. Outside the room is the outer world, where we have to imagine the mundane and the fears of life blending together in "real life". You can see a spire through the window, possibly a place of worship - the ultimate workplace for many people who seek refuge from the unknown.

3- Spirituality. A third chair sits away from the table, empty, but almost looks occupied by its position. If someone is occupying the seat, then they are beyond our vision. The afterlife is a more contentious reality, having many different brands of faith attached. It is widely believed that in intelligent hauntings (as opposed to residual, which is an altogether different topic for a different post) are the result of unfinished business. The reality of a soul who never properly finished within this reality.   

4 - Dreams. The table is the surreal reality in this painting, to state the obvious. It is the dream world, tempting us to sink deeper and deeper into it, dragging us away from the people above it.

5 - Psyche. The people stare, not into the table, but into themselves. If you follow their eyes, you see they look at nothing. They are lost within themselves, the reality that we all find ourselves trapped inside for most of the duration of our mortal lives.

6 - Mystique. The cat on the floor looks directly at us, our ambassador of otherworldliness. Cats are said to be one foot in this world, one foot out. The cat is the sole character in this piece who breaks the fourth wall, the only conscious character. The cat brings us back to our reality, by looking into us.

In one space, many. E plurbum unum - Out of many, one. My take on this painting is one of multiple worlds, all sinking into the focal point, of dreams.