Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
2024
4 × 6 in.
Two figures exist on the same staircase, surrounded by almost nothing. One appears to be moving along the stairs while the other lies across them. There is no doorway at the top, no fire at the bottom, no clouds, and no obvious destination. The only thing separating the two sides is the staircase itself.
I wanted the painting to leave one simple question unanswered: which way are they going?
We spend our lives thinking about heaven and hell as two completely different destinations. One is supposed to be above us and the other below us. One represents reward and the other punishment. But nobody actually knows what comes after life, or whether we're moving toward anything at all.
The staircase becomes the space between those possibilities.
The black and white divide makes everything look absolute, but the people caught between them aren't. Maybe one person is climbing toward heaven while the other is falling toward hell. Maybe they're traveling in opposite directions. Maybe the person lying on the stairs has stopped moving altogether. Or maybe we've misunderstood the image, and what looks like heaven is actually hell.
I like the idea that the same staircase could lead to either place. Direction depends entirely on where you believe you started and where you believe you're going.
There is also something lonely about it. At some point, everyone has to confront the fact that we don't really know what happens at the end. Religion, philosophy, and our own imaginations can give us possibilities, but none of us gets to look at the staircase beforehand.
Staircase to Heaven or Hell isn't meant to answer what happens after we die.
It's about standing somewhere between the two possibilities and realizing we won't know which direction we're going until we're already on the stairs.
2024
4 × 6 in.
Two figures exist on the same staircase, surrounded by almost nothing. One appears to be moving along the stairs while the other lies across them. There is no doorway at the top, no fire at the bottom, no clouds, and no obvious destination. The only thing separating the two sides is the staircase itself.
I wanted the painting to leave one simple question unanswered: which way are they going?
We spend our lives thinking about heaven and hell as two completely different destinations. One is supposed to be above us and the other below us. One represents reward and the other punishment. But nobody actually knows what comes after life, or whether we're moving toward anything at all.
The staircase becomes the space between those possibilities.
The black and white divide makes everything look absolute, but the people caught between them aren't. Maybe one person is climbing toward heaven while the other is falling toward hell. Maybe they're traveling in opposite directions. Maybe the person lying on the stairs has stopped moving altogether. Or maybe we've misunderstood the image, and what looks like heaven is actually hell.
I like the idea that the same staircase could lead to either place. Direction depends entirely on where you believe you started and where you believe you're going.
There is also something lonely about it. At some point, everyone has to confront the fact that we don't really know what happens at the end. Religion, philosophy, and our own imaginations can give us possibilities, but none of us gets to look at the staircase beforehand.
Staircase to Heaven or Hell isn't meant to answer what happens after we die.
It's about standing somewhere between the two possibilities and realizing we won't know which direction we're going until we're already on the stairs.