Living It Up With Livers is an A4 sized ink drawing on acid free card. The work will soon be framed so another 120cms on each side will be added. The date of completion of work is 10th August 2024. This is part of the Specialist Series being associated with the Hepatological entry. The painting is currently being done and is nearly ready. Once it is done it will be uploaded after this entry, though it will be entered into the painting section.
This is a conceptual work.
The main characters of this drawing are: one main doctor named (Dr.) Calvin Chan and 2 team members working with him. The two males are balancing thin, steel rods, while the middle female uses her scissor like tongs to work with the bloodied swab being passed to her very carefully. Below this is the Hepato- Gastroenterological :Liver, Pancreas, Gall Bladder, Pancreas, and Biliary Ducts system which is steadied upright like a vertical sculpture on the table. Above this is the gushing ‘cartoon style blood’ signifying an open operation is in progress.
Below this are two separate sections being Left and Right. Facing the reader on the left, we are seeing a lot of people quite well dressed and spaced out wearing hats. On the table behind the main hat wearer which says ” We want to live…er.’ But behind her we see a table with other livers in bowls with doctors in scrubs at the table. It seems everyone is wearing a Liver hat and are very happy with it.
Starting from the left, off centre, is a trail of many doctors in scrubs holding livers. Eying to the front of the bottom of the page off centre right, a main doctor with the name ‘Chan’ across his scrub shirt is handing a liver to a crowd on the right. The person he first meets is smiling at being given the liver. He is shown being surprised indicated by the three exclamation marks above his head. He too, like the rest of the crowd on the right has a black empty hole in his abdominal right side in the shape of a liver. All of these people need help from the doctors but it is seen that help is surely on the way. One person is seen crowd surfing. Perhaps this person has an online go fund him going on, so he is being crowd surfed to the front? 🙂
At the top of the page shows heads blowing wind toward the clouds and blowing them away. The stars show it is at night and it is possible by the close proximity of the surgeons below this section that help is very near at hand.
On an Esoteric note, the three people can represent past, present, future. Also, Crone, Mother, daughter, also 3 wands in the Tarot, meaning the launching of new ventures. It can also represent that male energy is a must in this situation, meaning action. The tempering of this is the emotional side, meaning the female compassion and feeling that is needed in this situation. The balancing act can represent the balancing of the scales in the Justice card. We cannot see whether the female is cutting or taking or motion in this aiding of the operation , and just like the Justice card in the tarot, Justice is blindfolded. Who is to know the outcome? The balancing of the rods can also represent the Magician card where all resources and talent and skill is mustered up to help with the situation. Being a young magician , it is not always known whether playing with Zeus’s fire has been worth is. But the elder of the Magicians here is wise, and can be the teacher of all.
The image of the hepato-gastroenterological system looks similar to a drawn sculpture and this image can make us ponder the choice between Subjective thinking and Objective thinking, and like the balancing act, the juggling of a wise mind is necessary for procedural operations.
The splash of blood can certainly signify the sacrifice that is needed to be partaking of this venture. The need to spill a little blood for something far greater is often recognised by patients and medical staff alike.
Masks, caps, and gowns are all trademarks of uniform and the need for work recognisable apparel. It is also a cover up to the information that is not shared between patient and doctor. It is sometimes necessary not to keep the patient up to date as what can be said by a doctor in a transitioning state of operation can sometimes be unwise to explain. Therefore a need to go slowly and wisely. This can be represented by the Tarot card, of the wise Hermit, which is a sole seeker of knowledge and truth, a doctor, a healer, and a teacher. The need to meditate in solitary is necessary.
The title ‘Living It Up With Livers’ is a play on words denoting those that have good functioning livers can and do, play a little bit more than those that are not in that position. Therefore- they are ‘liver-s’.
Being able to be rescued by those that care is a sacrifice for both parties. I would choose the Hanged Man Tarot card for this as there are sacrifices all around for accepting emancipating offers of freedom in our lives.
To wear our heart of our sleeve is one thing but to wear our liver on our head is quite another. Our Livers are amazing organs in that they not only help to filtrate and exit us of our poisons, make nourishment and protection inside of us to be well, they also purify our blood, help our other organs to be well, and can also heal itself! Fascinating! Wearing of our liver on our head could certainly be captivating in that we can be mindful of such a brilliant organ and those that look after us to keep them working well.
