Monomyth no.8

This body of work constitutes a reengagement with a traumatic personal experience and childhood memory. The study is influenced by the fractured and fragmented relationship I had with my alcoholic father. Who was often absent either in body or mind. The experience left me feeling lost and abandoned as a child. It was difficult growing up without a father figure. The result of his alcoholism and death left me very angry and withdrawn. As a child I spent a great deal of time reading comic books, both popular western comics and also Indian or Hindu comic books. These comic books and their narratives served as a form of escapism, filled with heroes and Gods who served as role models who I consulted while growing up. They were the father figure I never had but wanted. Father figures serves as a hero archetype to their sons and are configured as invincible and indestructible in the eyes of their sons. They are the beacons of guidance and symbols of security who map out the dangerous terrain during the journey of life. The father figure as an archetype constitutes a key part of the family dynamic and is integral in the social and cultural development of the son. If the father figure is flawed or absent, this could result in the son experiencing feelings of anger, abandonment and rejection. This father figure archetype represents such an integral part of the son’s life, that the son may replace a flawed or absent archetype with a more suitable one. This may either be from society or artificially created from his imagination . Superheroes are a prominent choice for this imaginary father and they serve as a form of escape from a less than desirable or absent father  .