May Death Be Kinder Than Man

This piece is an altar to the animals driven over without thinking. The viewer occupies the driver’s seat. A bouquet of flowers rests on the dashboard, and the driver’s hands are clad in black, highlighting mourning—on their way to a funeral. The driver grieves the roadkill and feels remorse, yet continues forward toward a deer caught in the headlights. This captures the helpless momentum of harm, even with awareness. A dove perched on a pole acts as an omen of futility, while the telephone poles double as crosses—gravestones for the animals already lost to the road. Stars appear only in the rearview mirror, not ahead, suggesting that a better world feels like something already left behind. The piece draws from South Asian cultural motifs around reverence for animals and the cyclical nature of life and death. In Hinduism, many animals—deer, cows, birds—are considered sacred, and their deaths are often seen as spiritually significant. 

Medium: Acrylic on wood   

Size: 24x24