Cuttledance

 The subject portrayed is a cuttlefish that is freshly caught from the sea in the tropics. The muscles of cuttlefish continually contract and expand for a short period of time after death, a captivating phenomenon foretelling the behaviour of this creature whilst alive. I have been fascinated by the cuttlefish for many years, particularly through Aristotle’s interest, on how this animal embodies the capacity of form morphing whilst remaining the same substance. This ability of the cephalopod species speaks greatly to me; as someone on the Autism Spectrum, I have been continuously learning the behaviour of the external world throughout my life, struggling to understand social cues and interactions between people, in hope of ‘blending in’ just as the cuttlefish camouflages with the environment. This piece of work, hence, is an expression of my condition of perpetual displacement, and my constant effort of learning the 'hows' and the 'whats' of being in the world. The frame of this work focuses upon the eye of the cuttlefish, as the only point of stillness whilst the surrounding structure continually morphs and mutates; the consistent situated within uncertainty. The eye stares back at the viewer with its depth of darkness, a mirroring gaze that can be interpreted as analogous to the existential void that is inseparable to the condition of any thinking being. To glare into the void of the cuttlefish eye, thus, is to penetrate through into the nothingness that is at the very core of being; a reflection universal to all existence.

http://sebastianmarytay.co.uk/