Caught between Heaven and Hell: an Autopictography

Caught between Heaven and Hell: an Autopictography is an autobiographical representation of my life in expressive abstractive form as a polyptych.

Every panel within this polyptych, every shape, line, variation in hue, tint or chromatic intensity has meaning relating to the past or present, ‘the self’, ‘externalities’, interactions, memories, loss, emotions, and my life shared.

In the style a Renaissance Polyptych, I chose to represent ‘the self’ (i.e., me) within the central panel, flanked above and below by a series of four smaller compositions representing various ‘life stages’ that trend from right to left and in mirrored form, as representations of ‘Heaven’ (above) and ‘Hell’ (below), thereby forming a polyptych within a single canvas.

This complex piece is discussed further within a dedicated page on my website stephenbend.com.