World of One: Invictus

Invictus (from the series World of One)

"Being unconquerable lies with yourself:
Being conquerable lies with your enemy."

- Sun Tzu's the Art of War

The next two pieces in the World of One, Invictus (Latin for “unconquerable”) being the first, will explore the idea of being alone in a crowd. While originally the idea was to only create one picture exploring themes of loneliness, the more I thought about it, the more my thoughts started to focus on the difference between being alone and wanting to be alone. For me, loneliness is about the unrequited desire to be seen by others. On the other hand, the desire to be alone, or what I would call seeking solitude, is more about ignoring the presence of others. Invictus was created with this concept of solitude in mind, which is why I did not have the central white figure in the picture return the gaze of the crowd. They all see him, but he does not see them. Instead he is staring straight into the camera and beyond the crowd.