Jareth's Doppelganger

"Jareth's Doppelganger"

Labyrinth tribute

11 x 14 inches, 16 x 19 inches framed size

acrylic on birch panel

2011

SOLD

This painting is for Seaside California's Alternative Gallery 's "Guardians" show, which will also feature the beautiful work of Matt Linares and opens October 14th.

This is my second tribute painting to Labyrinth, one of my most favorite movies of childhood and teenage-hood.  I had always loved Jim Henson's muppets as a child, but adding my idol of idols David Bowie to the mix was simply sensory overload in the best possible way.  As a Bowie-obsessed teenager, I watched Labyrinth almost on a constant loop.

The imagery in this painting depicts Jareth (Bowie) in his barn owl form with his double staring intently back at him.  One Jareth balances upon the dream-telling, juggling crystal balls while holding the 13 hour clock in his beak.  Thirteen hours was the amount of time Jareth gave Sarah to solve the Labyrinth before he made her brother his forever.

The other Jareth perches atop the magical peach that bewitched Sarah into the Masquerade scene, and holds one of the masks in his beak.  This scene was always my favorite part of the movie, and I now see how it is a metaphor for childhood emerging into adulthood. 

Since Jareth's character seems to be describable as a duel personality, I wanted these two owls to represent that duality, but to also represent both simultaneously, as if one isn't just good and one isn't just evil, they are both, and just as complex as Jareth's character in the movie.

**More to come about this show and my other included pieces!**