Psychostasia Framed Original

PSYCHOSTASIA | Original Oil Painting with Hand-Built Birch Frame

57" x 47" 

This large scale painting was inspired by the natural world’s uncanny ability to flourish when left to its own devices—untouched by the hand of human industry. The scene unfolds within the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified buffer stretching roughly 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. Rendered uninhabitable by more than a million M15 landmines left behind from the Korean War, this narrow strip of land has remained largely free from development. Amid the tragedy of this conflict, the critically endangered red-crowned crane has found refuge here, thriving in this accidental sanctuary created by the modern military-industrial complex. Their flourishing presence in a landscape shaped by political and military tension underscores how wildlife can rebound in the absence of human intrusion.

The cranes carry scales referencing the ancient Egyptian ritual of Psychostasia—the weighing of the soul—where the god Anubis measured a heart against the feather of Ma’at, the embodiment of truth and justice. A soul lighter than the feather entered a peaceful afterlife; one heavier, burdened by a life’s misdeeds, was devoured by the crocodile demon Ammit. In this work, Psychostasia becomes a contemporary metaphor: a collective weighing of industrialized humanity’s soul as we confront the consequences of war, mechanized destruction, and the environmental harm inflicted upon the very ecosystems we depend on. Elements such as the Justice tarot card embedded in the rubble beneath the cranes’ feet and loudspeakers echoing Korean propaganda further anchor the piece in themes of conflict, judgment, and moral reckoning.

Ultimately, the juxtaposition of devastation and renewal in the DMZ echoes the ancient symbolism of the scales—a reminder that even in places shaped by violence, life can reclaim its space, and the moral weight of our choices continues to be measured.