"Sapiens 3" by Top Kabana

"Sapiens 3" (46x55cm). Top Kabana. 2024. Acrylic on canvas. Original piece.

This painting presents a deeply surreal scene, rich with symbolism. At the center, a tragic skeleton, embodying the human condition and its constant search for meaning, sits before a canvas. As it paints, it is drawn into a hallucination that transports it to a cosmic space where religious and scientific visions of the origin of life converge. This skeleton, stripped of flesh, suggests the universality of human experiences, transcending the physical.

From its gaze emerges a luminous triangle, a symbolic representation of the path to wisdom or paradise, an eternal goal pursued by humanity throughout history. This triangle not only directs the composition toward the divine and the abstract but also connects the viewer with the timeless yearning for transcendence and knowledge.

The background of the piece is flooded with unreal creatures and individuals, beings that defy rational explanation. These dreamlike figures are born of imagination, symbolizing the inherent incoherence in the meaning of existence. Among them appears the figure of a deity, representing religious visions, contrasted with planets and celestial bodies that evoke scientific explanations of the cosmos and life. Both perspectives coexist in precarious balance, inviting the viewer to question their own place between faith and reason.

The earthly scene is grounded by a simple yet significant table. Upon it lie bread, cheese, and a bottle of wine inscribed with “Sortir de la Réalité” (escape reality), evoking an invitation to transcend the material and delve into the depths of human experience. These everyday elements contrast with the vastness of the surrounding galaxy, emphasizing the duality between the tangible and the ethereal.

The artwork as a whole unites the skeleton, its creative process, and its altered perception with a universe that seamlessly merges reality, imagination, and the existential questions that have always defined humanity.