Perspective, Trompe L'Oeil and Betrayal

Detail of image from the drawing series, “Are We Lost?” to be exhibited October 30 at the Anita Rogers Gallery. Aviva Rahmani colored pencils and oil on paper 7”x15” 2024.

'I was standing naked in a cold winter wind in a dead forest,' is a phrase from an aria I wrote last spring for live performance October 30 at the Anita Rogers Gallery. The libretto describes how a fossil fuel executive's wife's unconscious breaks through her denial of her husband's personal and global betrayals.

The aria will be the centerpiece of the night. The evening will build up to a vote on the fate of the couple. This article is a deep dive into questions before judgement. I will compare ecocide to a narcissistic discard (cutting off empathy in a relationship) to personalize ecocide. It is an imperfect comparison. The common denominator is devastation after extraction. I will use formal ideas from art to frame the issues.