Evra The puppet of reptiles
This painting evolved from a question, are we puppets in society or do we have free will?
Metaphorically speaking, do external forces, of which we are not conscious, manipulate our thoughts and actions? 
Are we not all puppets of our genetic configuration and social programming? To some extent we have been conditioned by certain genetic and environmental factors from which there is no way out. We are captives of the past, human freedom is fictitious. We are not free moral agents, we have never been and never will be. We are caught and eaten up by a world system where things are dictated from a modern-day Olympus, global powers that, not only manipulate, but also exploit the politics and economies of less powerful nations. These global powers create wars; they destroy the people they abhor or whose wealth of natural resources they wish to monopolise. They make weak nations more feeble and sow the seeds of poverty to disempower them. Are we puppets? No real puppet has the high-level capability to pose this question. Then why do we find ourselves so often in situations where we seem to be puppets? Because we allow ourselves to be “puppetized.” In such instances, we know within ourselves that we are not puppets at all, but we appear to be so from the point of view of the powerful puppeteers. In human society where there are no conscious puppets, puppeteers cannot thrive. The puppet masters can be defeated. We have a choice.
This article triggered a thought in me about domination, wether through religious belief systems or political dictatorship and how such a small group of people, can manipulate the masses. Is it possible to free ourselves from these strings that control our every move? The bud of the flower is tightly closed, unable to fully blossom due to the reptile preventing it from opening. So many of us struggle to meet our full potential due to the demands that the authorities force upon us. This painting is neither a question nor an answer but more an introspection of ones own thought processes.
Oil on block canvas 100cm x 69cm