“Conscious Crocodylus”

Lithography Etching on Paper, 11” x 15”, 2019

I created this etching project with the desire to produce an image that expressed the relationship between our thoughts and feelings. The heart is representative of our emotions, while the crocodile represents our thoughts. The heart embodies emotions by it’s very being, it is both the strongest muscle in our body, and yet the most vulnerable. The crocodile is a symbolic representation of our Basal Ganglia, or “reptilian mind”. The Basal Ganglia is connected to our most basic desires as well as our instinctual responses. This is the part of the brain that can be beneficial to your survival, but it is also the cause of most of your fears. The image is meant to be viewed depending on the viewer’s perspective. In different positions there is a different power struggle at play. The position most significant to me, and thus the one I chose to display all of these images in, is with the heart at it’s peak. Which position would you display it in?