The Flood

The general theme of The Flood is the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil. To depict the struggle I have used a variety of universal elements, which are timeless and thereby are not linked to a specific period or place. As such these elements - water, air, stars, snakes, birds, fish, eggs, flowers, and the human figure - are used to represent various universal aspects of life and the world.

In The Flood the universal elements are used symbolically. For example the basic setting of the painting is created by a turbulent, swelling ocean juxtaposed against a tranquil star-filled sky. In this setting the ocean represents the violence and chaos of the earth while the sky represents the ethereal and transcendence of the spirit.

The setting also serves as a dynamic backdrop in which other elements play out the struggle. Centrally located among them is a pure white egg. It is a major focal point in the painting and represents the fragility of life. A fracture in its shell allows an umbilical cord to extend upward to an infant angel thereby giving him sustenance. At the same time a large black snake not only clenches the egg in its jaws but also holds a gold bird in its grip and skewers a gold fish with its tail. As such the snake symbolically threatens to destroy all life – all life on the land (the egg), all life in the sea (the fish), and all life in the air (the bird). The snake is evil. It is a treacherous serpent mysteriously, but thankfully, trussed by a gold collar and ropes, trapped in its watery abode as two giant waves swell up to hopefully destroy him. But to counteract that hope the snake's burning womb is giving birth to a new generation of evil. A new generation that will no doubt perpetuate the eternal struggle.

To counteract the presence of evil hope rises above the horror and destruction of the water's tableau. The infant angel floats above the fray carrying a white lily up to the sky. The lily represents purity and beauty. It's three blooms reference three stages of life – birth, adolescence and adulthood. Death and destruction does not lurk here. The angel with his golden wings, and the lily with its green foliage and soft white petals, basks in the circular backdrop of life giving light.

- Brian Mains, March 2020