Daedalus

“…But son, please keep a steady wing
You know you're the only one that means anything to me
Steer clear of the sun
Or you'll find yourself in the sea

Won't you look at your wings?
They're coming undone
They're splitting at the seams
Steer clear of the sun
For once, won't you listen to me…”

THRICE — ”DAEDALUS”

A few years ago (March 2018), I began a sketch/concept (below), It felt terribly expressive of my person, as though I was the one one the page of my sketchbook, crying, breaking, and angry at God for what I felt on this side of my reality. I stopped developing my sketch and only thought back to carry it on late 2019. I think I’d found myself in the same emotional place I was when began the sketch.

While developing the sketch into a complete piece, I found myself floating my being in this song by Thrice, written from Daedalus' perspective - ‘The myth of Icarus and Daedalus’. My piece, song and the story appeared to meld into one cohesive experience. However, if I was to be the character being illustrated, I didn't understand who I was in the story, was I Icarus? Daedalus? The sun? The sea?

When I finally understood what it all meant to me, my brain trembled! My two worlds had come falling into one, my 'imaginary' one and this real one. You see in the climax of the song, Daedalus cries out:

“Oh gods, why is this happening to me?
All I wanted was a new life for my son to grow up free
And now you took the only thing that meant anything to me
I will never fly again, I will hang up my wings”

To me I’d taken the experience as a lesson on where I placed my focus in life. I was Daedalus and my emotions, affections, ambitions were Icarus and the sun was the here, now, you all, the systems that bid me to keep living a 'human' life.

So long as my Icarus keeps flying towards your sun, I would always remain Daedalus; shattered, distraught and angry at God for something He did not do…

This piece serves as a reminder for me to not loose a sense of where my passions really belong - selfishly, within myself. My own interests and my imaginary universe that personifies ideas and emotions. I am not to forget that my passions can easily be led astray, into the arms of this world, into the heat of your sun.