Complexity of Man's Life / Apple of Discord [ 18” x 24” ]· Carbon pencil, blackening watercolours, and inks on paper mounted to canvas · [ 2020–2025 ]
The many mask of relevance.
This painting reimagines the Apple of Discord as the single, glittering catalyst that fractures harmony into irreversible conflict. Eris, excluded from the wedding feast of Peleus and Thetis, hurls the golden apple inscribed "To the fairest" among the goddesses—Hera, Athena, Aphrodite—each immediately claiming it as her own. The apple is not mere fruit; it is the spark of ego, vanity, and rivalry ignited in one moment of exclusion.
Blackening drips radiate outward from the apple ( skull ) like fractures spreading through glass, distorting the faces of the claimants and foreshadowing the chaos that follows: the judgment of Paris, the Trojan War, betrayal, destruction—all cascading from one small act of pride. The goddesses don’t reach in overlapping desperation, hands grasping at the same prize, while shadows deepen behind them, but look away from it symbolizing the hidden, compounding cost of self-regard.
The work confronts the complexity of man's life: how ones need of fleeting choice—driven by the need to be "masked as the fairest," most powerful, most recognized—can unravel everything. Yet in the deepest blackening, a faint gleam remains on the apple's surface—the possibility that even discord, when faced honestly, contains a seed of clarity or growth.
A meditation on ego, division, the chain reaction of pride, and the quiet optimism that emerges when we finally see the apple for what it is—dark yet eternally hopeful in its refusal to ignore the fracture.
Dark yet hopeful,
Studio view, or related works: blairaiken@raincage.com
Inspiration & Personal Connection
This painting draws inspiration from Jacob Jordaens’ *The Golden Apple of Discord* (c. 1633). Jordaens’ lively, crowded composition captures the mythic moment when Eris throws the golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest” among the gods — the single act that sparked jealousy, rivalry, and ultimately the Trojan War. The psychological mask of the Apple of Discord story represents the destructive nature of vanity, jealousy, and elite selfishness. While Eris (the goddess of strife) causes the event, the true "mask" is worn by the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, who, despite their divinity, succumb to petty human vanity when presented with the title "the fairest".
This theme has continued to call to me throughout my life. The golden apple has appeared again and again as a symbol of how one small object, one moment of desire or comparison, can ignite great thrill, confusion, and lasting consequence. In my own experience, I have watched seemingly innocent moments of attraction, competition, or perceived favoritism create ripples of discord that reshaped relationships and futures.
In my version, the Apple of Discord becomes a meditation on the seductive power of comparison and the chaos that follows when we allow external validation to determine worth. The blackening layers trace the slow spread of jealousy, desire, and division — the way a single spark can fracture harmony and force us to confront what we truly value. It interests me how we men, think we are the audience, or jury of this story.
Yet even in this moment of discord and upheaval, a faint gleam persists on the surface of the golden apple — a quiet reminder that every conflict, however painful, can also become a catalyst for clarity, growth, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.
Dark yet hopeful.
Studio view, or related works: blairaiken@raincage.com
Dark yet hopeful.
Jacob Jordaens’ *The Golden Apple of Discord* (c. 1633)