Emmanuel Crespo
Wrestling an Angel, 2020
Acrylic on panel
24 x 18 inches
Portraying a more violent transition of power, Wrestling an Angel depicts two bodies occupying the same space, and fighting vehemently to conquer the other. The angelic element, depicted by a black crow, struggles to take flight while its counterpart grasps its throat and braces himself with a widened stance in an attempt to keep himself grounded in his plane of existence. The scene illustrates my constant struggles with my other selves, my other realities. Whether the Other, my Shadow, is angelic or demonic, I have come to understand its role as dependent on my perception. Nevertheless, it has become a necessary dynamic of my existence and growth. The polarities are facets of the same stone and are what constitutes its beauty and uniqueness. Good-evil, strength-weakness, angel-demon, hero-trickster, even life-death are like the toggles of a light switch.