The Tempest – What Sound Does the Wave Make Before it Crashes?

Part of a new series: Much Ado About Nothing - where each painting unfolds upon a theatrical stage - The Tempest draws inspiration from both Shakespeare’s play and the iconic image of Hokusai’s Great Wave. Here the overwhelming force of nature becomes the central drama. A towering wave crashes across the staged tableau, capsizing vessels and casting figures into turbulent waters. At the center of the stage, the artist barely navigates a fragile craft in the middle of the chaos. The audience watches the unfolding disaster with unsettling calm while they casually eat their sushi and drink their sake. The painting becomes a staged allegory of human detachment in the face of overwhelming forces, where spectacle, destruction, and indifference coexist within the theater of history.