“DISILLUSIONMENT”

90 X 65 CM EACH

ACRYLIC & SCREEN INK ON CANVAS

2012 CASPER KANG

DISILLUSIONMENT I

DISILLUSIONMENT III

DISILLUSIONMENT V

Images may not be used without consent

2012 Casper Kang

“SECLUSION”

480 X 130 CM

ACRYLIC AND SCREEN INK ON CANVAS

2011 CASPER KANG

Images may not be used without consent

2011 Casper Kang

SELF DYNASTY

As young children, the Queen and the General first met outside the impenetrable walls of the imperial castle. The Queen demanded that her guards kill the many pigeons that nested atop the walls, but because the walls were so high, the guards could not reach the pigeons. The clever General, who came from a family of beggars, fed the pigeons grains of fortune-rice, which caused the pigeons’ stomachs to explode. The Queen, who had always been fascinated by death and carnage, immediately realized that she had found her perfect partner for life, her soul-mate.

They were both 7 years old when the Queen had the General’s family killed and brought him to the castle, where he was educated in all matters of combat and warfare. By the time he reached his adolescence, he had already become by far the greatest warrior in all the empire, and thus became the general of the Queen’s army. He cut off the heads of 444 warlords, and conquered the entire eastern hemisphere. He cared for the Queen, and followed each and every one of her orders without question. When the Queen ordered him to find the rulers of peaceful neighboring kingdoms and to pluck out one of each one’s eyes, he complied. Despite his violent profession, the General would go home to his wife and children, and would forget about the killings.

During her 89th year of reign, people began to say that the Queen’s mind had become infected by demons. The extreme selfishness of her goals grew more apparent to the General, and for the first time, he hesitated upon hearing her orders. Still, he followed the Queen’s wishes to ride a Pegasus into space and destroy all the planets, moons, and stars that were visible from the Earth. She had developed sleeping problems, and said that the lights in the sky bothered her at night. And so according to her wishes, the skies became starless. Upon returning, the Queen was disgusted by the appearance of the Pegasus. In fact, the Pegasus was not entirely visible to the human eye, and could only be perceived as blurs of color and light. When she demanded that the General cut off the wings of the Pegasus, he replied, “But the Pegasus has no wings.”

The Queen grew increasingly suspicious of those around her, and began to fear that a conspiracy was being planned. The General wasn’t afraid of the Queen, but the Queen was afraid of him. Her paranoia affected her perception of the general, as he no longer appeared human to her. Through her eyes, he took on the form of a large beast with golden fur and a hideous face which appeared drawn and anxious. She locked herself inside her castle, and never came out. She sent her three sons, who had been trained as royal assassins to the General’s house to kill him. But the General killed them, and fled the kingdom, while the Queen issued a decree of the General’s banishment. From inside her castle, she would peer out from behind the walls in fear, knowing that the General was very well capable of killing her and her entire army. Wandering in the wilderness, the General would gaze sadly upon the walls of the kingdom, hoping that the Queen would forgive him.

The General would continually circle the entire kingdom, killing any armies which might attempt to invade. He did this half out of boredom, and half out of the hope that the Queen might appreciate his efforts and forgive him. After 149 years passed, the General became a part of the wilderness, turning into stone. Realizing this, the Queen finally left her castle, went out into the wilderness and smashed the stone General into dust. When news of the General’s death had spread, the Queen’s kingdom was invaded and conquered by her enemies.

Images and text may not be used without consent

2011 Casper Kang