dk

my piece is centered around the theme of beautiful/decay, which is actually the title of an artistic magazine (thats the only connection the two have). in order to translate this title visually i began thinking of the beautiful and decay as opposites, sort of like the yin and yang symbol. with that in mind, the use of fish (particularly koi fish) became something that i absolutely wanted to do. besides the comparable shape of fish to the two elements of the yin and yang symbol, koi fish are connected to ideas of prosperity, wealth and overall well being because of the old stories told about them (the one i am familiar with is one describing the transformation a koi will make into a dragon if it succeeds in swimming up the Yellow River and passing through what is called the "Dragon Gate"). thats basically the idea behind the top fish (the beautiful fish). opposing that, i think of the bottom fish as symbolizing everything the former does not.