"Ceci n'est pas le sante (This is not health)"
2021
mixed media
8" x 10"
René Magritte's "The Treachery of Images" inspires me to no end, with its absurd simplicity. Nothing is ever as it seems; perception will never be truth.
I began work on this image before the 2020 pandemic and mandates, overwhelmed as I was with over 5 prescription medications, 45 pills a day, machines, devices, protocols, and endless diagnoses. It was not meant to be a political statement, but I can't say I don't appreciate the irony of my timing.
Taking health for granted resulted in symptoms and disease. The "healthcare" we utilize is often merely a series of rather drastic chemical and surgical interventions to cover up a lack of health rather than restore it. They, in general, do very little to promote or maintain the actual health and vitality of the human body. In my experience, the endless medications and surgeries of "healthcare" has instead proven detrimental to my health. Ironically, all that comprises our system of "healthcare" -- insurance-controlled doctor visits, industry-driven education, pharmaceuticals, surgeries, injections, patches, pain relievers, and public policies -- has very little to do with caring for our health. I found that when I rather took better care of what I put in my body (natural, unprocessed foods), what I put on my body (natural, chemical-free products), what I do with my body (natural, beneficial movement) and what I put in my mind (truthful, loving thoughts), my health improved infinitely more than it ever had with 35 years of pharmaceutical drugs, and even rendered them unnecessary.
A true picture of health would be the non-existence of this image.