This drawing by @paolobeneforti brings to mind three phrases.
Fish out of water.
Plenty more fish in the sea.
Fishing for a clue.
The absurd portayal of the people wandering through a maze of books, seemingly lost, as the numerous fish swim above seems to invert the two roles.
The appearance of the people lost in a literal sea of knowledge.
This is represented by a reef of books and seems to portray the situation we currently find ourselves.
The flood of information on the internet, that doesn't necessarily transpire as knowledge, the fake news once in print is fact , every thought becomes fact once in print. Everything regardless of the knowledge, research and disclosure of bias is now presented as a alternate facts.
The separation of humans from the natural environment, and the disconnection from nature, is also effectively portrayed.
As I interpret the people in a underwater reef, I can also assume they are seeking sea life.
But the previously described displacement from the environment has them separated from the very thing they seek, as the fish circle in great numbers above them, neither the fish or the people seem aware or connected to each others world.
Although this piece is described by the artist @paolobeneforti as a sketch, it is most definitely a surrealist work. By freeing the observer from rationality in order to get a message across.
In other sketches in the series which you will find linked below, the artists also challenges the viewer in a similar way. By removing the subject from its usual environment.
I very much enjoy this work.
Its approach appears simplistic, but in this form the artist is able to utilise this nonthreatening technique to introduce some very thought provoking ideas.
Fish out of water - Both species displaced.
More fish in the sea - yet the people wander alone and aimlessly.
Fishing for ideas- Fact from fiction in a world flooded with ideas.
Thanks for reading
